Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as a special assistant to former President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, is expected to testify Tuesday before the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Although it had not been scheduled to meet again until next month, the panel announced Monday that it will hold its sixth public hearing on Tuesday at 1:00 pm ET to "present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony."
It's not clear whether any other witnesses will testify during Tuesday's hearing.
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During the more than 20 hours she spent in deposition with the House January 6 committee, Hutchinson "provided extensive information about Meadows' activities in trying to overturn the election," according to the Washington Post.
Hutchinson, poised to become a star witness as the first White House employee to publicly testify, previously told the committee that she saw Meadows burning documents after he met with Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) following the election.
In recorded testimony that the panel released in April, Hutchinson identified Perry and his fellow Republican Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), and Lauren Boebert (Colo.) as members of Congress "who were raising the idea of the vice president doing anything other than just counting electoral votes on January the 6th."
Just five days ago, the panel unveiled a recorded interview in which Hutchinson named six GOP lawmakers--Perry, Greene, and Reps. Mo Brooks (Ala.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), and Louie Gohmert (Texas)--who sought pardons from the White House before and after Trump's coup attempt was defeated.
Less than a week after the deadly insurrection, Brooks allegedly requested pardons for all 147 congressional Republicans who voted against certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, while Gaetz began asking for blanket immunity in early December 2020.
As Slatereported earlier this month:
[Hutchinson] also testified about a strategy meeting ahead of the election certification in which the Republicans discussed delaying the joint session of Congress or otherwise blocking the counting of electoral votes. That meeting, she said, had Jordan and Greene in attendance, as well as at least nine other Republican lawmakers. "They felt that he had the authority to--pardon me if my phrasing isn't correct on this, but--send votes back to the states or the electors back to the states," she testified.
She also told the committee in that testimony that Meadows had been warned before the insurrection about the "potential for violence." A senior Secret Service official told Meadows about intel reports of potential violence. "And Mr. Meadows said: All right. Let's talk about it," she said. She said she was "not sure" what Meadows had done with the information or if they were seen as "genuine concerns."
The Hill reported Tuesday that "her testimony has even offered details on Trump's reactions the day of the riot. It was Hutchinson who detailed Trump's indifference to chants of 'Hang Mike Pence' unfolding at the riot, suggesting the supporters 'have the right idea.'"
Hutchinson's testimony, Slate noted, "could prove crucial for a future prosecution of Trump, particularly as Meadows has refused to cooperate with the committee."
The House committee lacks prosecutorial authority. Attorney General Merrick Garland has indicated that the Justice Department, which can bring criminal charges, is closely following the panel's work while pursuing its own investigation, but top Democratic leaders have expressed concerns over the DOJ's lack of urgency.
