Who is Cassidy Hutchinson, the Meadows aide testifying before U.S. Congress?
The top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who is testifying before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot was a young, fast-rising star in the Trump administration.
Cassidy Hutchinson was a staff assistant at the Office of Legislative Affairs before she was quickly promoted to special assistant to then-President Donald Trump and adviser to Meadows, before becoming his executive assistant until the end of the Trump administration.
Meadows made Hutchinson his legislative aide, and she would accompany Meadows to Capitol Hill for his most serious meetings. Hutchinson was with Meadows "all the time," one former White House official said, and another source said she had "very close access to Meadows."
One former White House aide said Hutchinson had a falling out with Meadows in 2021. She was supposed to go to Mar-a-Lago as the permanent staff but that never ended up happening.
Hutchinson's experience of working closely with Meadows will allow the committee to gain further insight into Meadows' efforts to overturn the election and knowledge of what took place the day the Capitol was breached. A person close to Hutchinson has told CNN she previously testified to the committee for at least 20 hours detailing her time in key meetings at the White House as Trump and his allies tried to overturn the election results.
She was an eyewitness to several key episodes leading up to January 6, in addition to witnessing some of Trump's real-time reactions that day.
During interviews conducted by the committee, Hutchinson testified that multiple Republican members of Congress, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Scott Perry and Louie Gohmert, asked for preemptive pardons after January 6.
She also testified that Meadows was directly warned prior to the insurrection of the possible violence. Meadows refuses to speak to the House committee.
Prior to her confirmation of speaking in front of the committee, CNN previously reported that Hutchinson replaced her lawyer that had close ties to Trump in preparation for her testimony. CNN also reported that Hutchinson has become increasingly aware of the safety risk speaking in front of the committee poses and has been on alert.
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