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A prominent former U.S. attorney said Saturday that a star witness for the January 6 House select committee had been "groomed" to lie on behalf of former President Donald Trump.
Joyce Vance served as a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017, one of the first nominees put forward by former President Barack Obama during his first year in office. Since departing the position, she has been an outspoken critic of Trump, often using her legal background to bring deeper insight into his actions.
Vance appeared as a guest on MSNBC on Saturday speaking with host Katie Phang about the House select committee, which held its final public hearing on Monday, referring Trump and several others to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges.
Vance said that former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the committee was vital in bringing to light information closely guarded by Trump and his inner circle, and added that Trump's legal team tried to get her to lie and conceal certain facts.
"It is clear that Hutchinson was being groomed to commit perjury when she testified to the committee," Vance said. "The language her lawyer used is very careful, it is couched in terms of 'If you don't remember then you can say that you do not remember.' But read it in context, she is clearly being encouraged when she does, in fact, remember to liberally refuse to recall testimony that would be contrary to Trump's best interest and to Mark Meadows, her boss's best interests."
Hutchinson worked as an assistant to Mark Meadows, Trump's former White House chief of staff. As the committee unearthed in its investigation, Meadows was extensively involved in Trump's plan to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. He was also among the allies of the former president named as potential co-conspirators in the plot by the committee's final report, with the House panel finding that they warranted investigation by the DOJ.
Meadows was previously held in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer the select committee's subpoena, but the DOJ ultimately declined to pursue charges at the time. During her MSNBC appearance, Vance also raised the possibility that, due to being implicated heavily in Hutchinson's testimony, Meadows might now be cooperating with investigators.
"This raises a lot of questions, perhaps it raises more questions than we can answer. Are any of these folks beyond Hutchinson cooperating? Is, for instance, Mark Meadows, who is clearly implicated by her testimony, is he now a cooperating witness with the government? If that is the case that could be the break the DOJ has been looking for."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's office for comment.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more