CNN
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Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson will testify Wednesday before an Atlanta-area special grand jury probing efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Hutchinson, a former top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, previously cooperated with investigations by the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, and the Justice Department.
CNN reported last month that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had secured Hutchinson’s cooperation in the investigation.
Hutchinson could offer Georgia prosecutors insights about what she witnessed in the West Wing, as well as specific steps her former boss took related to Georgia. In public testimony before the January 6 committee this summer, she revealed how Trump and his inner circle were warned about the potential for violence on January 6, and how the former president wanted to join the throngs of his supporters at the Capitol.
The Georgia probe – set off by an hour-long January 2021 phone call from Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” the votes necessary for Trump to win the Peach State – has steadily expanded with time.
It now covers presentations on unfounded election fraud claims to state lawmakers, the fake elector scheme, efforts by unauthorized individuals to access voting machines in one Georgia county and a campaign of threats and harassment against lower-level election workers.
For months, the special grand jury has been scrutinizing those events to determine whether any of them may have been illegal. When the panel, which does not have the power to issue indictments, completes its work, it is expected to issue a report with recommendations, including whether anyone should face criminal charges.
Another notable figure expected to appear before the grand jury this week is Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is slated to testify Tuesday, a source told CNN.
The Tuesday grand jury appearance was first reported by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
A judge previously said Kemp, who sailed to reelection last week, would not have to testify until after the midterm elections. Judge Robert McBurney, who oversees the grand jury, rejected Kemp’s earlier efforts to quash his subpoena but said there would be limits to the questions Kemp could be asked.
Among the topics prosecutors are eager to ask Kemp about is a December 2020 phone call in which Trump allegedly tried to push Kemp to convince state legislators to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the Peach State.
This story has been updated with additional details.
