NBC News reports that the witness to testify at today’s urgently scheduled hearing is Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff and the man whom everyone seemed to text and the man in the middle of the attempt to find any basis for fraud, from Georgian signatures to Italian satellites.
The fact that the identity of today’s surprise and urgent hearing did not leak yesterday or last night is indicative of the seriousness and critical nature of the testimony to come. Influential insiders on Twitter believed the name would be leaked by early evening. It did not and by evening, the very fact that the witness’s identity had not been leaked was taken as an indication as to the critical nature of the testimony to come.
According to the NBC News report:
In recorded testimony presented last week, Hutchinson told investigators that a group of GOP lawmakers had sought presidential pardons following the insurrection at the Capitol, including Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Mo Brooks of Alabama…
…The panel unexpectedly announced Monday that it would hold a hearing Tuesday to present new evidence and hear witness testimony, but did not specify who would be offering testimony like it did for previous hearings.
There has been a great deal of speculation regarding the need for the surprise expedited hearing, some responsible, some not. The panel has not announced why it scheduled the hearing as it did or why it kept the identity of the witness secret. It can be surmised that the Committee did not want to give Republican-MAGAs time to build some sort of counter-message, not even a day, going into the hearing, including possible alibis (Given that Ms. Hutchinson has named names before). There is almost no other explanation for withholding the name of the witness.
As to why the hearing was expedited and surprisingly scheduled? The Committee states that it learned of new evidence. However, the Committee also delayed two hearings until mid-July for the very same reason.
Something is different about this particular topic which requires the Committee to make the facts public as urgently as possible. It could be due to Hutchinson wavering as to whether she wants to testify live and the Committee is worried she will change her mind. It could be that Hutchinson will testify regarding certain people in official positions who could be a danger to the government given their past actions and current position. Or it could be because the Committee is now working in concert with the DOJ which needs testimony out to back up certain indictments that it wants to file but needs political cover to support the legitimacy of the indictments. Unless and until the Committee tells the public why they needed the urgent hearing, the above is speculation but comports with the reasons that testimony is often moved up in court and congressional proceedings.
The hearings will be covered by this site.
The key witness at today’s surprise Jan. 6 hearing is Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson
She has told the committee that multiple GOP lawmakers close to Trump asked him for a pardon after the deadly Capitol riot https://t.co/TRqqohyQTS
— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) June 28, 2022
Jason Miciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, while also studying scientific philosophy, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.
