A Republican-led House subcommittee has released a report challenging a central piece of testimony from the January 6 investigation, disputing a claim made by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. The report, obtained by ABC News, suggests that a note Hutchinson testified she wrote during the Capitol attack was penned by then-White House lawyer Eric Herschmann, not Hutchinson.
Hutchinson’s testimony, delivered in June 2022, became a focal point of the House select committee’s investigation. During her appearance, she claimed to have written a note for then-President Donald Trump, dictating a message that called on individuals who entered the Capitol without authority to leave. The note read, “Anyone who entered the Capitol illegally without proper authority should leave immediately,” with the word “illegally” crossed out. Hutchinson stated she had written the note at the request of her boss, Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who handed her a note card and pen.
However, Hirschmann, who served as a legal adviser to Trump, stepped forward shortly after Hutchinson’s testimony, stating that he was the author of the note, not Hutchinson. The House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, led by Republicans, conducted its investigation and enlisted an independent handwriting analyst to review the matter. The analyst compared the note to several samples of Herschmann’s handwriting and concluded that the handwriting matched.
The findings, released by Subcommittee Chairman Barry Loudermilk, claim to debunk Hutchinson’s statements. “This new evidence provided by an independent, Certified Questioned Document Examiner, not only contradicts Ms. Hutchinson’s numerous claims that she penned the note but also exposes the Select Committee’s willingness to accept all her testimonies without corroboration or further investigation,” Loudermilk said in a statement.
Hutchinson’s representatives declined to comment on the report, and Transformco, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, did not immediately respond to ABC News. The handwriting analysis has reignited debate over the credibility of key testimonies from the January 6 investigation, and Republicans have used the opportunity to question the thoroughness of the House Select Committee’s work.
According to the report, the subcommittee obtained several samples of Herschmann’s handwriting, which they provided to a handwriting expert for analysis. The expert concluded, “The handwriting that appears on the questioned document was written in the same hand as the exemplars.” The report included additional evidence, such as a birthday card submitted by Hutchinson as a sample of her handwriting, to further scrutinize her claim.
Despite the handwriting dispute, Loudermilk emphasized that the issue highlights a larger problem with the select committee’s investigation. “The Select Committee’s Final Report was built on testimonies that lacked adequate verification,” he added, suggesting that more of Hutchinson’s claims could face scrutiny.
Hutchinson’s testimony was one of the most dramatic accounts during the investigation, as she recounted Trump’s actions and behavior on the day of the attack. Among the most shocking claims was her description of Trump allegedly lunging for the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle when his Secret Service detail refused to take him to the Capitol after his speech at the Ellipse. However, Republicans have previously disputed aspects of her testimony.
In March, the House Administration Subcommittee released an “Initial Findings Report,” in which Republicans claimed that four other White House staffers had not corroborated Hutchinson’s version of events. “The testimony of these four White House employees directly contradicts claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson and by the Select Committee in the Final Report,” the subcommittee wrote. According to that report, none of the staff members confirmed the account of Trump attempting to seize control of the vehicle.
While the handwriting dispute may seem minor in the broader context of the January 6 investigation, it has opened the door for Republicans to further challenge the credibility of the select committee’s findings. Democrats and others supportive of the investigation have insisted that the GOP’s counter-report is a distraction, intended to discredit legitimate efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Democratic-led House select committee’s investigation, which culminated in a final report released last December, concluded that then-President Trump bore responsibility for the events of January 6. The report presented extensive evidence of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, citing over 1,000 interviews and numerous documents. Despite the evidence, Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing, and his supporters have sought to undermine the investigation’s conclusions.
The release of the new report has sparked further debate as both parties prepare for an election season in which issues like January 6 remain a polarizing topic. While the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight continues to review the work of the select committee, the Justice Department is also conducting its investigation into the events surrounding January 6, with several indictments already handed down.
While the handwriting analysis is unlikely to alter the broader findings of the January 6 investigation, it represents another flashpoint in the ongoing battle over accountability and truth. As the country moves closer to the next election cycle, the legacy of January 6 and the differing narratives surrounding it are poised to play a major role in shaping political discourse.
