Former Trump aide sent message to Mark Meadows telling her not to cooperate with Jan 6 committee

Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson received a message from an associate of former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who warned her not to cooperate with the House January 6 select committee, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The message in question was the second of the two warnings that the select committee disclosed at the end of the special hearing when Hutchinson testified about how Donald Trump directed a crowd he knew to march on Capitol, according to the sources.

A person let me know that you have your deposition tomorrow. He knows you are loyal, and he's going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition, read the message. The sources said that Meadows was the cause of the redaction.

The message was presented during closing remarks with Hutchinson by the panel spokesman Liz Cheney, who characterized the missive as improper pressure on a crucial witness that could extend to illegal witness tampering or intimidation.

The exact identity of the person who sent Hutchinson the message, other than the fact that they were associate of Meadows, could not be confirmed on Thursday, but that could be in part due to the fact that the select committee may wish to interview that person, the sources said.

That appears to indicate that the person who sent the message was a close associate of the former White House chief of staff who may be a fact witness to what Trump and Meadows were doing and thinking ahead of the Capitol attack.

Neither a spokesman for Meadows nor Hutchinson responded Thursday evening to a request for comment.

The other message was directed at Hutchinson, according to the sources, as well as the quote displayed on the slide was one of several calls from Trump allies that Hutchinson told House investigators.

As long as I continue to be a teamplayer, they know that I am protecting who I need to protect, and I ll continue to stay in the good graces in Trump World, according to the slide read.

They reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts and just to keep that in mind as I went through my depositions and interviews with the committee. The identity of the people who called Hutchinson, warning her not to implicate the former president, could not be established beyond the fact that they were people close to Trump, though the select committee is understood to be aware of all of the people.

Politico, which first reported that the message to Hutchinson came from an associate of Meadows, also reported that it came before her second interview with the select committee. Hutchinson changed lawyers before her fourth deposition that preceded her public testimony.