Lawmakers Texted Star Jan. 6 Witness About ‘Sexual Favors’: Report

In June of last year, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) was considering subpoenaing former Trump staffer Cassidy Hutchinson as part of the GOP’s counter investigation into the work of the Jan. 6 committee. The idea was shut down by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), ostensibly over concerns that Hutchinson’s testimony would mean a repeat of the firestorm her 2022 testimony created.

According to a Thursday report from The Washington Post, Johnson’s office was also concerned that subpoenaing Hutchinson would unearth a much more embarrassing scandal: lawmakers sending her sexually explicit text messages. 

According to the Post, one of Johnson’s aides warned members of Loudermilk’s staff of concerns brought to their office that subpoenaing Hutchinson’s communications could “potentially reveal embarrassing information,” according to an email reviewed by the Post, including “sexual texts from members who were trying to engage in sexual favors.” 

While the Post did not review any of the alleged text messages, they did review correspondence between Johnson and Loudermilk’s offices discussing the existence of the messages. 

In June 2022 Hutchinson — a former aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — testified before the House Jan. 6 committee about her experience the day of the Capitol riot. Hutchinson’s testimony was a bombshell. She detailed conversations in which Meadows warned her that things might get “real, real bad on Jan. 6,” witnessing Trump demanding security measures be loosened during his Ellipse rally ahead of the riot, hearing from Secret Service members that Trump became irate when they refused to take him to the Capitol, and walking into the president’s private dining room after he threw a plate at the wall in a fit of rage.

Hutchinson also testified that she overheard former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone arguing with Meadows over Trump’s reaction to rioters calling for the execution of Vice President Mike Pence. “ I remember Pat saying something to the effect of, ‘Mark, we need to do something more. They’re literally calling for the vice president to be fucking hung.’ And Mark had responded something to the effect of, ‘You heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong.” 

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The revelations provided a clear window into Trump and his senior staff’s mindset on the day of the attack, and transformed Hutchinson into a focal point of Republicans’ efforts to rewrite the events of the day, and undermine the work of the Jan. 6 committee. 

As chair of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, Loudermilk was tasked with producing a counter-report to the Jan. 6 committee disputing evidence presented in public hearings. Loudermilk alleged that Hutchinson had “knowingly provided false testimony to the Select Committee on January 6, regarding the origins of a handwritten note that was given to President Trump on January 6, 2021,” and that Jan. 6 Committee Chairwoman Liz Cheney had improperly communicated with Hutchinson to influence her testimony. 

Last year, Loudermilk repeatedly requested communications from Hutchinson regarding her contact with Cheney and senior Trump White House officials. “If she refuses to provide us documents, I will not hesitate to subpoena her for questioning,” he wrote on X last year. 

The subpoena never came, but on Wednesday Johnson announced the authorization of a new subcommittee — chaired by Loudermilk — tasked with investigating the riot, as well as the work of the original investigative committee. With President Trump having threatened members of the Jan. 6 committee, including Cheney, with political and prosecutorial retribution, Republicans intentions couldn’t be more obvious.