The Republican-led House committee that reviews the job House selection committee The investigator into the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol has released a report that Republicans say disputes testimony from one of Cassidy Hutchinson’s key witnesses at the 2022 hearing.
In a report first obtained by ABC News, the House Administration Subcommittee says a handwriting analyst, retained by the committee, determined that Hutchinson testified that he had written a memo for then-President Donald Trump to read during the attack on the Capitol. Indeed, then White House counsel Eric Herschmann wrote.
during Hutchinson’s testimony In June 2022, when Rep. Liz Cheney showed a handwritten note, Hutchinson testified that her boss, Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff, had given her a note card and pen to take dictation. The memo, which included a possible firing statement from Trump, said: “Anyone who illegally entered the Capitol without proper authority should leave immediately” — with the word “illegal” crossed out.
Following Hutchinson’s testimony, ABC News reported that Herschmann came forward to claim that was the note. written by him In a meeting at the White House, and not Hutchinson.
As part of its ongoing investigation into the January 6 select committee, the House Administration Subcommittee “obtained several samples of Mr. Herschmann’s handwriting,” which the committee provided to an independent handwriting expert, who determined that the samples matched the former White. Home lawyer writing.
“Based on the documents presented, the evidence supports my contention that the handwriting shown in the Questioned Document was written in the same hand as the models,” the report says, referring to Herschmann’s handwriting samples, according to a copy of the report. Obtained by ABC News.
A representative for Hutchinson declined to comment to ABC News.
Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testifies that the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, June 28, 2022.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP, FILE
As part of document production, Hutchinson submitted a birthday card as a handwriting sample to the subcommittee.
In a statement, subcommittee chairman Barry Loudermilk said the findings contradicted Hutchinson’s testimony.
“This new evidence from an independent Questioned Documents Examiner not only contradicts Ms. Hutchinson’s numerous claims that she wrote the memo, but also reveals the Select Committee’s willingness to accept all of her testimony,” Loudermilk said.
While Republicans have disputed who wrote the memo, ABC News previously reported that several White House aides urged President Trump to take action because his supporters were storming the Capitol. In the end, Trump didn’t tweet his supporters asking him to leave the Capitol until just over three hours after the initial outburst.
In March, the White House Administration Subcommittee released an “Initial Findings Report,” which Republicans said said four other White House staffers could not verify Hutchinson’s accounts of former Trump’s actions that day.
“The testimony of these four White House staffers directly contradicts the claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson and the Select Committee in the Final Report. None of the White House staffers corroborated Hutchinson’s outrageous story about President Trump’s search for the steering wheel of the Beast.” It says “Preliminary Findings Report.” “However, some witnesses described the president’s mood after his speech at the Ellipse.”
In a letter to Laudermilk, Hutchinson’s attorney, William H. Jordan, wrote: “Let me be clear: Since Mrs. Hutchinson changed her attorney, she has been telling the truth and will continue to tell the truth. Other people, often older men, played roles. — would not speak to the Select Committee, Ms. Hutchinson and several other witnesses bravely stepped forward. However, they are now asking you and your Subcommittee about her testimony and the issues that may also be in the ongoing criminal proceedings against Mr. Trump.” .
“Ms. Hutchinson has not been silenced and will succumb to a campaign of pressure from those seeking to influence her testimony, even in the name of ‘oversight,'” Hutchinson’s attorney wrote.
Hutchinson’s testimony before the commission on January 6 caused shockwaves in the political world in 2022. Former Senior Advisor to President Trump’s Chief of Staff. he disclosed many details About what was said behind the scenes before, during and after the Capitol attack.
After nine public hearings and interviews with hundreds of witnesses, the House’s Jan. 6 committee released the final report In December 2022, he concluded that Trump had led “a multi-pronged conspiracy to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election.”
Hutchinson, who said he remained a Republican, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
“Donald Trump and JD Vance cannot be trusted with the Constitution. They cannot be trusted to defend our rule of law and they cannot be trusted to enact responsible policy,” Hutchinson said when announcing his endorsement. “That in itself is disqualifying.”
