NEW: Alyssa Farah Griffin Worked as ‘Back Channel’ to Jan. 6 Committee for Cassidy Hutchinson Ahead of Her Bombshell Testimony

Photos by Chip Somodevilla (L) and Brandon Bell (R)/Getty Images.

Cassidy Hutchinson reached out to an important ally as she weighed her testimony to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol: her fellow Trump White House alumna, Alyssa Farah Griffin. It was Griffin who served as a critical “back channel” to help guide the committee’s questioning of Hutchinson, Mediaite can confirm.

Hutchinson, who had been an aide to former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, was originally represented by former White House attorney Stefan Passantino regarding her testimony before the committee. In a Sept. 14, 2022 deposition, she testified how she had grown increasingly uncomfortable with Passantino’s advice, specifically how he urged her to mislead the committee that she did not recall details that she did in fact remember.

As Hutchinson described it, she was far more restrained in her first two interviews with the committee, guided by Passantino’s advice, but it was weighing on her mind how she should have been more forthcoming.

According to Hutchinson, she spent some time researching the Watergate scandal, including Nixon White House staffers who served in roles similar to hers and finding inspiration in those who came forward to tell the truth. Her deposition transcript goes into pages and pages of detail regarding multiple discussions she had with Passantino and other Trump allies about jobs that she could find in Trump world, including possibly Jason Miller hiring her at GETTR, an assistant to Matt Schlapp discussing her working with CPAC, and conversations she had with Trump campaign consultant Susie Wiles and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In addition to the enticements of possible lucrative job offers, Hutchinson also testified about her fears that if her testimony was damaging to Trump, she would face retaliation beyond just losing out on the jobs. “They will ruin my life,” she worried, “if I do anything that they don’t want me to do.”

As Hutchinson weighed her options, she confided in a Republican member of Congress (who remains unnamed in the transcript) to ask for advice, and was encouraged to do what she needed to do in order to be able to look herself in the mirror.

She then reached out to Griffin, describing the former White House communications director as someone with whom she was “fairly close” and she knew was not compromised by loyalty to Trump world because Griffin had been “pretty outspoken” in criticizing the events of Jan. 6.

“I trusted her enough to go talk to her about my situation,” Hutchinson testified, and she went to Griffin’s house on Apr. 26. “I knew that she was also interested in getting to the truth.”

According to Hutchinson, she was “nervous” and “pretty scared” that her outreach would get back to Passantino and viewed Griffin as her “best option” to keep everything confidential.

Hutchison  said that the two of them spoke for awhile and then she brought up her testimony, saying that she felt that she should “go in and like elaborate on a few things…kind of expand on a few things.”

Griffin expressed her willingness to help and Hutchinson asked her to “back channel to the committee and say that there is a few things that I want to talk about,” describing several topics that the committee had been unaware she had actual knowledge or had not asked sufficiently detailed questions. One specific topic Hutchinson mentioned was regarding Trump’s alleged physical assault on the Secret Service agent driving the SUV who refused to take him to the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“I was trying to think of things that weren’t as deliberately asked in the first few interviews that I could go in and then just hope that there would be some prodding and we could — I could be a little more transparent,” Hutchinson said. “This was for my conscience. And I wanted to be helpful.”

Griffin suggested that she terminate her attorney-client relationship with Passantino, but at this point, Hutchinson was not ready to do so and told Griffin she hoped she could just continue to back channel information to the committee without his knowledge.

“So I gave [Griffin] a few things to proffer to the committee,” Hutchinson said.

A source familiar with their conversation confirmed Hutchinson’s account, telling Mediaite that Griffin got Hutchinson’s permission to call Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), one of the Republican members of the committee. When Griffin called the congresswoman, she told her Hutchinson was willing to share more information but felt her hands were tied with Passantino representing her.

This appears to be the triggering event that eventually led to the committee contacting Passantino to schedule Hutchinson’s third interview. When he called Hutchinson about that, she pretended to not know why it was happening.

That third interview was one where Hutchinson was reportedly far more forthcoming, to Passantino’s obvious surprise and displeasure. (The committee has not yet released the transcripts of Hutchinson’s first three interviews.) She would end up informing Passantino she no longer wanted him to represent her and retaining the services of Jody Hunt, who offered to represent her pro bono. It was Hunt who was advising Hutchinson leading up to her bombshell testimony in June, and during this Sept. 14 deposition.

Mediaite reached out to Griffin for comment. “Cassidy is incredibly brave and patriotic,” said Griffin. “She’s also my friend. I am proud of her courage. I was honored she felt she could trust me.”

Griffin also posted a tweet Thursday evening praising Hutchinson. “If doing the right thing was easy,” she wrote, “more people would. Forever grateful to my friend Cassidy Hutchinson for her courage.”

Read Hutchinson’s full Sept. 14, 2022 deposition transcript here, or pages 85-86 below (Griffin is referred to by her maiden name, Farah).

This post has been updated with additional information.