Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who has served on the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot since Jan. 6, 2021, said she was “surprised” by federal prosecutors’ reactions to testimony given to the panel this week by Cassidy Hutchinson, who was previously an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, host Chuck Todd asked Lofgren to respond to a story published last week in The New York Times that reported that federal prosecutors working on the investigation of the Justice Department on Jan. 6, felt blindsided after watching Hutchinson’s testimony and were as surprised by her remarks as those who watched it.
Several officials who spoke to the newspaper said that before her testimony, prosecutors had not been given transcripts or videotapes of her previous interviews with the committee. Hutchinson spoke four times to group investigators behind closed doors before testifying at Tuesday’s public hearing.
“You know, I was surprised that the prosecutors were surprised. What are they doing there? They have a much better opportunity to carry out their subpoenas than our legislative committee,” Lofgren told Todd.
Asked if she thought it was fair to characterize the House panel as having blindsided the Justice Department, she said she didn’t think so.
“We are not part of the Ministry of Justice. We are a legislative committee. They have the right to a subpoena. They could summon Mrs. Hutchinson. I’m surprised they didn’t. We interviewed her four times. I think it’s public knowledge at this point. And the fourth interview was very fascinating,” she added.
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Lofgren’s comments came after Hutchinson gave explosive testimony during a last-minute hearing held by the panel on Tuesday.
Among the most significant parts of her testimony, she said that both Meadows and Rudy Giuliani had asked former President Trump for a pardon, that Trump had tried to grab the steering wheel of the car he was in on Jan. 6 in an attempt to get to Capitol after being informed that he could not be taken there and that Meadows had told her on January 2 that things could “get really, really bad” on the day the riot eventually took place.
Tensions arose between the House Select Committee and the Department of Justice, the latter of which complained that its investigation was hampered by the committee’s refusal to provide transcripts of witness interviews.
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