Mark Meadows Aide Cassidy Hutchinson Is January 6th Committee's Surprise Witness: Report

Punchbowl News and CNN reported Monday night that Tuesday's surprise January 6th hearing will feature live testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the attack on the Capitol on January 6th.

Hutchinson has previously testified in videotaped closed door sessions with the committee, clips of which have been presented in earlier hearings, and is arguably the closest person in President Trump's orbit to willingly cooperate with the committee. 

It was reported earlier this month that she'd parted ways with her Trump-aligned attorney Stefan Passantino and would be represented by Jody Hunt, a lawyer with ties to Trump's ousted former attorney  general Jeff Sessions.  

In videotaped testimony presented last week, Hutchinson revealed that Representatives Mo Brooks  and Matt Gaetz had sought blanket pardons for members of Congress who tried to subvert the election, and she has reportedly testified to the committee that President Trump approved of his supporters chants of “Hang Mike Pence” as they stormed the Capitol.

The House select committee announced the hearing earlier Monday, saying it would "present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony." It was a surprise move, coming with less than 24 hours notice, while Congress is not in session, and the committee was set to be on break until after the recess.

At press time it wasn't clear what new information prompted the hastily arranged special session, but CNN is reporting that security has been increased ahead of Hutchinson's appearance.

Each of the major broadcast and cable networks are set to air the last-minute hearing, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, and MSNBC. Regular programming will be suspended to air the hearing live.

The broadcast will air beginning at 1:00 PM ET Tuesday.

Jed Rosenzweig is the Founder and Publisher of Primetimer.