Cassidy Hutchinson, the surprise witness at Tuesday's Jan. 6 panel hearing

 

One of the biggest surprises from the committee hearing on January 6 came from Cassidy Hutchinson, who said that last week in a taped deposition she explained how Republican lawmakers pushed for blanket pardons for attendees of a Dec. 21 White House meeting.

NPR has learned that Hutchinson, a former assistant to Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, will make a surprise live appearance before the panel today during an unannounced hearing. On Monday, the committee said it will hold a hearing on Tuesday "to present freshly discovered material and collect witness testimony," but as of Tuesday morning, it had not formally announced any witnesses or offered further information.

The hearing's confidentiality seems out of place given that Hutchinson's collaboration with the committee has been an open and well-known truth.

Hutchinson is expected to uncover something explosive when she testifies, which is expected given the urgency of the hearing and the significant evidence she has already provided to the Democratic-led committee.

What has Hutchinson said thus far

In that video testimony from last week, the former Meadows assistant claimed that GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz had been requesting a pardon from the White House since "early December," and also mentioned that Reps. Andy Biggs, Louie Gohmert, Mo Brooks, and Scott Perry had done the same. Gaetz told John McEntee, a former White House adviser, that he requested Meadows for a pardon, according to McEntee.

Hutchinson also stated in court that she had learned that Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene had asked the White House Counsel's office for a pardon. Later, each individual member listed by name refuted the accusations.

The committee released two videos of her speaking on the actions taken by the White House before, during, and after the horrific attack on the Capitol. Some in Washington had speculated earlier this month that she may give a live testimony at one of the committee's public meetings.

Prior to his testimony, Hutchinson claimed that Meadows had been informed of "intelligence reports indicating that there could possibly be violence on the sixth." Politico said that she also informed the committee that Meadows had destroyed several documents in his office during a meeting with Rep. Scott Perry, but it is unclear what those records were. Perry came to light as a key player in the former president Donald Trump's efforts to persuade supporters of a number of lies about the validity of the 2020 election during last week's committee hearings.

Hutchinson previously disclosed to the committee that she spent some of January 6 with Meadows, but not all of the activities. She has also been mentioned in recorded evidence indicating that Meadows attended a conference when alternate electors in crucial swing states where Trump lost were considered. Rudy Giuliani, a number of his aides, and Meadows were also present.

Politico has previously reported that Hutchinson had changed legal counsel from Stefan Passantino of Alston Bird to Jody Hunt of Alston Bird, who supposedly still maintains close links to Trump. With close links to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Hunt is a former Justice Department lawyer.