The call came after former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified before the committee. The White House official was able to confirm some of what Hutchinson had said under oath, the sources said. CNN was told the location of the witness Trump tried to call, but not the person’s name. Details about the witness Trump tried to contact have not been previously reported. The initial revelation about Trump’s phone call came in a dramatic moment at the end of this week’s hearing by committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney. Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, revealed that Trump “tried to call” an unnamed witness in the committee’s investigation. He said the witness “refused to answer or respond” to Trump’s call and instead notified their attorney. The committee has since provided this information to the Department of Justice. “We will take any attempt to influence witness testimony very seriously,” Cheney said Tuesday during the hearing. A spokesman for the House select committee declined to comment. A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rep. Pete Aguilar, a California Democrat who serves on the committee, told CNN on Tuesday that the person Trump tried to call was speaking with the committee. “Trump himself had called someone who was talking to us,” Aguilar said. A source familiar with the committee’s investigation added that the committee spoke with the person Trump tried to call, but not as part of a deposition. Mississippi Democratic Rep. Benny Thompson, the committee’s chairman, told CNN on Wednesday that Trump’s effort to subpoena that witness was troubling enough to raise it with the Justice Department. “From my perspective, it’s very unusual for me to do that, and so we’re pretty much leaving it in the hands of the Justice Department to make that decision,” Thompson said, when asked if Trump’s act called the official was enough evidence to establish whether Trump was trying to intimidate a witness. “We are concerned about the safety of the witnesses.” This is not the first time the committee has raised concerns about possible witness tampering. “This has been an ongoing pattern and we are trying to send the message that witness tampering is a crime in the United States of America. People should not be approaching witnesses to try to get them to change their testimony,” said the Maryland Democratic representative. . Jamie Raskin, who serves on the panel, told CNN on Tuesday. At the end of last month’s hearing with Hutchinson, Cheney cited two examples of possible witness intimidation without naming a witness or who had been contacted. Sources told CNN that both instances Cheney recounted in that June hearing were directed at Hutchinson, and that Hutchinson believes the messages were intended to influence her testimony. In one case, Cheney said a witness received a call in which someone said, “(A person) informed me that you have your testimony tomorrow. He wants to let you know that he is thinking about you. He knows that you are loyal, and you will do the right thing. when you come in for your deposit.” Multiple sources previously told CNN that the witness was Hutchinson and the “person” referred to in the message, which was stated in the version shown on a screen during the hearing, was former White House chief of staff Meadows. Ben Williamson, a spokesman for Meadows, denied that Meadows or anyone in his “camp” tried to intimidate Hutchinson or influence her testimony. “No one in Meadows’ camp, himself or anyone else, ever sought to intimidate or shape her conversations with the committee,” Williamson told CNN. The second example previously cited by the committee — a witness statement detailing former President Donald Trump’s lobbying campaign — also involved Hutchinson, the sources told CNN. “What they’ve told me is as long as I continue to be on the team, they know I’m on the team. I’m doing the right thing. I’m protecting the ones I’m supposed to be protecting, you know. I’m going to continue to stay in good graces in Trump’s world,” Cheney said at the hearing. , relaying the witness statement that sources now say is Hutchinson. “And I’ve been reminded a few times that Trump reads transcripts and just to keep that in mind as I go forward with my testimony and interviews with the committee.” This story has been updated with additional details on Wednesday.
