Mark Meadows’ associate threatened ex-White House aide before her testimony

The Guardian

Mark Meadows’ associate threatened ex-White House aide before her testimony

Hugo Lowell in D.C. and Martin Pengelly in New York – July 1, 2022

<span>Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

The former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson received at least one message tacitly warning her not to cooperate with the House January 6 select committee from an associate of former chief of staff Mark Meadows, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Related: Explosive testimony piles pressure on Trump – how likely are criminal charges?

The message in question was the second of two warnings the committee disclosed at the end of its explosive special hearing on Tuesday, when Hutchinson testified about matters including how Donald Trump directed a crowd he knew was armed to march on the Capitol, the sources said.

“[A person] let me know you have your deposition tomorrow. He wants me to let you know that he’s thinking about you. He knows you’re loyal, and you’re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition,” the message read. The redaction was “Meadows”, the sources said.

The message was presented in closing remarks at the special hearing by the committee vice-chair, Liz Cheney, who characterized the missive as improper pressure on a crucial witness that could constitute illegal witness tampering or intimidation.

On Wednesday, another committee member, the California Democrat Pete Aguilar told CNN he believed the messages constituted witness tampering, adding: “I think that that’s something that should be looked at by our committee and potentially by the Department of Justice.”

The identity of the person who sent Hutchinson the message – beyond the fact they were an associate of Meadows – could not be confirmed. That may be in part because the 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 and may be a fact witness to what Trump and Meadows were doing and thinking before and during the Capitol attack.

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

The other message disclosed by the committee was also directed at Hutchinson, the sources said. The quote displayed was from one of several calls from Trump allies that Hutchinson described to House investigators.

“What they said to me is, as long as I continue to be a team player, they know that I’m on the team, I’m doing the right thing, I’m protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in the good graces in Trump World,” the slide read.

“And they reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts and just to keep that in mind as I proceeded through my depositions and interviews with the committee.”

The identity of the people who called Hutchinson, presumably warning her not to implicate the former president, could not be established beyond the fact they were close to Trump. The committee is understood to be aware of all of the people.

Politico, which first reported that the message came from a Meadows associate, also said it came before Hutchinson’s second interview with the committee. Hutchinson changed lawyers before a fourth deposition that preceded her public testimony.

Since that testimony, given in answer to questions from Cheney, the deputy chair has taken her message of defiance to Trump to other stages.

On Thursday, she participated in a primary debate in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Pointing to testimony presented by the January 6 committee, Cheney said: “It is not true that there was sufficient fraud to change the results of the 2020 election. The president’s own attorney general has said that, the president’s own deputy attorney general has said that and … President Trump’s campaign manager said that; President Trump’s White House counsel said that; President Trump’s own family said that.”

She added: “We are now embracing a cult of personality. I won’t be part of that, and I will always stand for my oath and stand for the truth.”

This was the scariest moment in Arizona’s GOP governor’s debate. Be warned, America

AZ Central – The Arizona Republic

This was the scariest moment in Arizona’s GOP governor’s debate. Be warned, America

Laurie Roberts, Arizona Republic – July 1, 2022

There was no shortage of cringeworthy moments during Thursday’s food fight, otherwise known as Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial debate.

There was the squabbling, of course, and the two leading candidates embracing their inner 8-year-old as they hurled insults at one another.

There was Scott Neely’s remark about his opponents, all of them accomplished in their respective professional fields: “I haven’t been on a stage with this many women since I’ve been to a baby shower.”

But the cringiest, creepiest, scariest moment of all was when Kari Lake asked for a show of hands of how many of the four candidates believe the 2020 presidential election was “corrupt and stolen.”

Three hands immediately shot up.

After all this, they think the election was stolen

After sample audits and a “full forensic audit” found no evidence that the election was rigged …

After eight unsuccessful lawsuits, including a two-day detailed hearing that produced no evidence that Trump was robbed …

After two independent investigations cleared the Dominion Voting Systems machinery and a third confirmed the election equipment was never hooked to the internet …

After a hand count of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million ballots confirmed the results of the election …

Analyze this: 5 takeaways from the Republican debate for Arizona governor

After every county election official in the state – both Republican and Democrat – certified the results as good and true, as did a Republican governor and a Republican attorney general …

After then-President Donald Trump’s own attorney general said there was no credible evidence of widespread fraud …

After millions of dollars wasted and 18 months of searching turned up no proof of any widespread conspiracy …

… three of Arizona’s four Republicans running for governor believe the election was stolen.

If Kari Lake loses, 2022 is fraudulent, too?
(From left) Scott Neely, Kari Lake, Ted Simons, Paola Tulliani Zen and Karrin Taylor Robson prepare before a debate with Republican candidates ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election for the Arizona governor's office in Phoenix.
(From left) Scott Neely, Kari Lake, Ted Simons, Paola Tulliani Zen and Karrin Taylor Robson prepare before a debate with Republican candidates ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election for the Arizona governor’s office in Phoenix.

Only Karrin Taylor Robson hasn’t taken the swan dive of delusion down that rabbit hole, though she’s quick to assure Republican voters that she doesn’t believe the election was fair.

But she, at least, stopped short of crying “Fraud!” given the complete and total absence of any credible evidence.

Meanwhile, Kari Lake continues to spout utter nonsense about hundreds of thousands of conspiracy-laced ballots that resulted in a “corrupt” election and an “illegitimate president”. She even suggested that she might not accept the results of the Aug. 2 primary unless she’s the winner.

“We have a movement. Our campaign is a movement,” she said, when asked whether she would accept the results of the primary election. “We’re going to show up in droves. They are going to have to cheat even harder to win it.”

So there you have it. If Kari Lake loses, the election must be fraudulent. (Haven’t we seen this movie before?)

And scariest part?

Kari Lake may just win this thing.

No proof that voters returned to their senses

I’d say our beloved state is in a state of temporary insanity except 18 months of psychosis is hardly temporary and there’s no evidence that a good chunk of this state’s voters are returning to their senses.

Election deniers are leading in the polls for the state’s three top jobs: Blake Masters (Senate); Mark Finchem (secretary of state) and Lake (governor). This, as early ballots for the Aug. 2 primary hit mailboxes next week.

Unless the non-deluded wing of the Republican Party prevails over the next month or Democrats somehow pull off a miracle in November, this swing state could well be about to careen from temporary insanity into full-blown, flat-out crazy.

As bellwethers go, this one should be clanging loudly all across the land.

Be afraid, America. Be very afraid.