Former WH aide worried about witnesses’ safety if Trump gag order lifted

Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, stressed in a Monday interview her concern over the safety of witnesses if former President Trump’s gag order is lifted.

A star witness in bombshell Jan. 6 hearings, Hutchinson appeared on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” to discuss her new book. She highlighted a section in which Meadows told her that, in response to chants to “Hang Mike Pence,” Trump said the former vice president “deserved it.”

“That’s really scary. It’s still scary to hear,” Psaki said to Hutchinson. “You know a number of the people, former colleagues, who are going to be witnesses. Are you nervous about their safety when you hear Trump’s words and you see what he’s doing out there publicly?”

“Yes, I am,” Hutchinson said.

“And I know from my experience, too. The American people should not ever have to live in fear of retribution from a president of the United States, or a former president of the United States,” Hutchinson said. “A president is here and is elected to protect the people, not to incite violence on those people.”

She then listed off people who have publicly discussed how their lives have been ruined by efforts by Trump and his allies to undo President Biden’s victory in 2020, including a former Arizona state House Speaker, and a pair of Georgia election workers.

“I think about members of Congress on the Jan. 6 Committee, who needed security details, or, even up until a few weeks ago, during the Speaker’s race, how there were members who weren’t voting for Jim Jordan who had violence unleashed on them — and they are Republicans — just because they were not planning to vote for the individual that Trump had personally endorsed,” Hutchinson said.

Trump faces gag orders in multiple cases after attacking those affiliated with the case — including judges and court staff — in social media posts.

In his federal election subversion case, Trump’s legal team is challenging the gag order, and a three-judge panel heard arguments Monday in favor of tossing it out.

While they seemed skeptical of Trump’s team’s claims of protected political speech, the judges signaled they could be open to narrowing the order’s scope.