Lawmaker texted Cassidy Hutchinson about 'sexual preference': report
Last June, Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk was considering subpoenaing former Trump staffer Cassidy Hutchinson as part of a Republican pushback over the Jan. 6 committee work. part of the investigation. The idea was rejected by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), ostensibly out of concern that Hutchinson's testimony would mean a repeat of the firestorm her 2022 testimony sparked.
According to a report on Thursday washington post, Johnson's office is also concerned that subpoenaing Hutchinson would reveal an even more embarrassing scandal: lawmakers sending her sexually explicit text messages.
according to postal, one Johnson's aides warned Loudermilk's staff they were concerned that subpoenaing Hutchinson's communications could “potentially reveal embarrassing information,” according to an email reviewed by Johnson. postalincluding “sextings from members attempting to provide sexual services.”
Although postal They did not review any of the alleged text messages, but they did review letters between Johnson's and Loudermilk's offices discussing the existence of the messages.
In June 2022, Hutchinson, a former aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified before a House committee on January 6 about her experience on the day of the Capitol riots. Hutchinson's testimony was a bombshell. She detailed a conversation in which Meadows warned her that things could get “very, very bad” on Jan. 6 and that she witnessed Trump demanding relaxed security measures at an Ellipse rally before the riot and removing members from the Secret Service. Personnel there heard Trump express anger at their actions. refused to be taken to the Capitol and walked into the president's private dining room after throwing his plate at the wall in a rage.
Hutchinson also testified that she overheard former White House counsel Pat Cipollone arguing with Meadows about Trump's response to rioters who called for the execution of Vice President Mike Pence. “I remember Pat saying something to the effect of, 'Mark, we need to do more. They were actually calling for the vice president to be hanged.' Mark's response was this: 'You heard him , Pat.” He thought Mike deserved it. He doesn't think they did anything wrong. ”
The revelations provide a clear window into the mindset of Trump and his top staff on the day of the attack and put Hutchinson at the center of Republicans' efforts to rewrite the day's events and undermine the Jan. 6 committee's work.
As chairman of the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee, Loudermilk will be tasked with delivering a counter-report to the committee on Jan. 6 disputing evidence presented at the public hearing. Loudermilk claimed that Hutchinson “knowingly provided false testimony to the Select Committee on January 6 regarding the origin of a handwritten note to President Trump on January 6, 2021,” and that on January 6, committee chair Liz Cheney engaged in inappropriate communications with Hutchinson to influence her testimony.
Last year, Loudermilk repeatedly asked Hutchinson to communicate about her contacts with Cheney and senior Trump White House officials. “If she refuses to provide us with documents, I will not hesitate to subpoena her for questioning,” he wrote on X last year.
The subpoena was not issued, but on Wednesday Johnson announced the creation of a new subcommittee (chaired by Loudermilk) to investigate the riot and the work of the original investigative committee. With President Trump threatening political and prosecutorial retaliation against committee members, including Cheney, on January 6, the Republicans' intentions could not be clearer.