Cassidy Hutchinson told Jan. 6 committee she felt pressure not to talk
Hutchinson made the comments when she returned to the select committee in September to discuss the pressure campaign she felt from Trump allies.
Hutchinson said that her "breaking point" with Passantino came in June when he advised her not to speak to the committee any more, saying that risking "contempt is a small risk, but running to the right is better for you." Passantino represented Hutchinson for her first three depositions earlier this year, after she was subpoenaed by the committee in late 2021. The committee has not yet released those transcripts so it's unclear how often Hutchinson said she did not recall events in her initial interviews.
Hutchinson said that Passantino told her not to lie. "I want to make this clear to you: Stefan never told me to lie. He specifically told me, 'I don't want you to perjure yourself, but 'I don't recall' isn't perjury. They don't know want you can and can't recall,'" she testified. "It's actually quite easy. You can't instruct the client to lie," Wu added. "You can say, 'don't overshare. Don't start volunteering information.'"
"And he said, 'They don't know what you know, Cassidy. They don't know that you can recall some of these. So you saying, "I don't recall" is an entirely acceptable response to this,'" she testified.During the September deposition, Hutchinson revealed her private turmoil over being beholden to the former President after turning to a Trump-backed lawyer because she couldn't pay for six-figure legal bills.
"He said something to the effect of, 'Well, Mark wants me to let you know that he knows you're loyal and he knows you'll do the right thing tomorrow and that you're going to protect him and the boss,'" Williamson told her, according to Hutchinson's testimony. "Cassidy Hutchinson is a patriot who bravely upheld the oath she swore when she took a job in the White House. I'm grateful for her willingness to share the unvarnished truth with the American public," Griffin told CNN on Thursday.
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