WASHINGTON — A GOP-controlled House committee investigating the special committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack and Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election sent a letter Wednesday to that panel’s star witness, Cassidy Hutchinson , asking him to hand over numerous communications with key numbers from January 6th, as well as those related to his book contract.
In the letter, first obtained by NBC News, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chairman of the House Administration oversight subcommittee, asked Hutchinson to turn over all communications from this month with former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. ., the Jan. 6 vice chairman of the panel and several senior Trump White House officials. They include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows; former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin; former White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato; former White House senior adviser Eric Herschmann; and former White House counselor Pat Cipollone.
Additionally, Loudermilk asked Hutchinson for communications regarding “potential publishing or book deals or related compensation” as well as employment after the White House; the 25th Amendment, which covers the removal of a president from power; and your itinerary for a trip to Florida’s Gulf Coast in early 2021.
Last fall, Hutchinson wrote a best-selling book about the events of January 6, “Enough.”
Loudermilk wrote that the request for documents and other communications is necessary because the Jan. 6 selected panel — which was created by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. – “failed to properly archive their records, including up to 900 interview summaries or transcripts, more than a terabyte of digital data, and more than 100 deleted or encrypted documents.”
“The Subcommittee has no choice but to repeat much of the work of the Select Committee to understand the findings of the investigation,” Loudermilk said.
Trump faces multiple federal criminal charges for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election before and on Jan. 6, when the Capitol — and the lawmakers who certified Joe Biden’s victory — were attacked by thousands of his supporters.
Led by Loudermilk, House Republicans have been eager to downplay the events of January 6 and reignite the investigation and the special committee’s findings as Trump tries to win back the White House in November. Part of that effort focused on discrediting Hutchison, who served as Meadows’ top aide in the final days of the Trump administration.
In the letter, Loudermilk said that in reviewing documents that Hutchinson had previously provided to his subcommittee, his panel concluded that some of the documents “were not filed by the Select Committee.” This included communications between Hutchinson and former White House officials Ben Williamson and Stefan Passantino; Trump’s top political advisor, Susan Wiles; journalist Jake Sherman; Kash Patel, former Defense Department chief of staff; and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe.
Hutchinson’s attorney, William H. Jordan, did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment. In response to other requests for documents, Jordan referred to a statement earlier this year in which he characterized Loudermilk’s request as a “pressure campaign” to “silence” a potential witness in Trump’s criminal trials, where the former President faces numerous criminal charges for interfering in the 2020 election and trying to remain in power after his electoral defeat.
“Let me be clear: Since Ms. Hutchinson changed attorneys, she has and will continue to tell the truth,” Jordan wrote to Loudermilk in January. Committee, Mrs. Hutchinson and many other witnesses came forward boldly. However, she is now questioned by you and your Subcommittee about her testimony and about issues that may also be the subject of ongoing criminal proceedings against you.
“EM. Hutchinson will not succumb to a pressure campaign from those who seek to silence her and influence her testimony, even when done in the name of ‘oversight,'” Jordan continued.
During the January 6, 2022, hearings, Hutchinson was the committee’s surprise star witness, testifying under oath that he had heard that Trump had thrown himself behind the wheel of the presidential SUV and engaged in a physical altercation with his secret leader. Duty officer after she was told she could not go to the Capitol to join her supporters after speaking at a rally on the Ellipse on January 6, 2021.
But in March, Loudermilk’s panel released an 81-page report that Republicans say shows that four other White House officials did not corroborate Hutchinson’s dramatic account of Trump’s actions that day.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
