Jan. 6 panel member wonders what DOJ is doing with bombshell Cassidy Hutchinson testimony

Shant Shahrigian

A Democratic House member on the Jan. 6 panel said Sunday she wants to know what federal prosecutors are doing with the bombshell revelations by former White House aid Cassidy Hutchinson.

Department of Justice attorneys reportedly felt blindsided by Hutchinson’s testimony before the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol.

“I was surprised that the prosecutors were surprised. What are they doing over there?” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Hutchinson, an ex-Trump staffer, testified that the former president knew members of the crowd were armed before urging them to march on the Capitol where lawmakers were meeting to certify the 2020 presidential election results.

“They could subpoena Ms. Hutchinson. I’m surprised they had not done so,” Lofgren said of DOJ prosecutors. “They have a much greater opportunity to enforce their subpoenas than our legislative committee does.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., left, and Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, June 28, 2022.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., left, and Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, June 28, 2022.


Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., left, and Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, June 28, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/)

Efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to smear Hutchinson came as no surprise, the congresswoman added.

“We always expected Trump world to try and discredit her, and they are not disappointing us in that regard,” she said.

From left, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Soumya Dayananda, committee investigative staff counsel, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2022.


From left, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Soumya Dayananda, committee investigative staff counsel, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., listen as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/)

“I thought her testimony was credible. She has nothing to gain by stepping forward and telling the truth. And Trump world has everything to lose by the truth,” she said. “So they are doing their best to try and attack her, to discredit her.”

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