Several women who served in the Trump administration have reportedly created an informal support network as some come forward to testify publicly before the Jan. 6 Select Committee, a new report in Politico explains.
As Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, delivered shocking testimony late last month, her former Trump White House colleague Alyssa Farah Griffin reportedly texted their former colleague Sarah Matthews. Griffin also reached out to Olivia Troye, who served as former Vice President Mike Pence’s homeland security adviser and sat in the hearing room as Hutchinson testified, Politico reported.
The women anticipated the backlash and scrutiny that Hutchinson faced in the aftermath of her bombshell testimony before the panel investigating the events surrounding Jan. 6, they told Politico. They reached out to Hutchinson after her testimony concluded.
Those who were in touch with Hutchinson are among a small group of women who have been vilified by the former president or his allies for sharing public or private testimony with the Jan. 6 Select Committee. The group includes former Trump aides who became disillusioned by his presidency.
In phone calls and text messages, they have advised each other on how to report social media harassment as well as other ways to stay safe, like suggesting wearing baseball caps while walking through an airport, according to Politico.
The group has been been in regular contact with each other throughout the Jan. 6 Select Committee’s public hearings, forming what they call an informal type of “rapid response” unit, according to Politico. For example, several women in the group defended Hutchinson on TV and on Twitter as she was attacked following her damning testimony.
In interviews, women in the group told Politico that they are not digging for information or trying to sway the committee’s proceedings, but are there to remind each other that they don’t have to go through the backlash alone. After expressing their open defiance of the former president, women in the group have faced death threats and smears online.
“Her body language is that of a total bull…. artist. Fantasy Land!” Trump posted on his knockoff Twitter app TRUTH Social, during Hutchinson’s testimony.
The group has also turned to other Republican women who have navigated widespread backlash before, such as former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA), who criticized Trump early in his presidency. Comstock told Politico that she offered to give Hutchinson legal support after her testimony.
Additionally, a few members of the group have been in touch with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), vice chair of the Jan. 6 Select Committee, who has faced backlash within the GOP for her vehement criticism of Trump.
