Cassidy Hutchinson handwritten note controversy explained as White House attorney disputes Jan 6 testimony 

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mark Meadows, recently testified in front of the January 6 committee in a newly scheduled hearing on Tuesday, June 28. In her statement, Hutchinson shared specific information regarding former US president Donald Trump’s actions during the January 6 US Capitol attack.

While the testimony was ongoing, Representative Liz Cheney shared a picture of a handwritten note that was reportedly written by Hutchinson as a statement from Trump in an attempt to subdue the riot at the Capitol. The note read:

“Anyone who entered the Capitol illegally without proper authority should leave immediately.”

As per official reports, the word “illegally” was crossed out of the note. Shortly after the note was presented, Hutchinson confirmed that it was her handwriting and that she had written it.

She mentioned that Meadows had given her a notecard and a pen, and started to dictate a statement for Trump in connection to the Capitol attack. Hutchinson also testified that former White House attorney Eric Herschmann had suggested that she change the word “illegally” to “without proper authority.”

However, Herschmann refuted Cassidy Hutchinson’s claims, and said that he had written Donald Trump's note instead.

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What did Eric Herschmann say about Cassidy Hutchinson’s note?

White House attorney Eric Herschmann claimed that Cassidy Hutchinson did not the write the Jan. 6 note for Trump (Image via Getty Images)

As Cassidy Hutchinson testified about writing a statement for Donald Trump in relation to the January 6 Capitol attack, former White House attorney Eric Herschmann claimed to the contrary that he had written the note behalf of the former president.

A spokesperson for Herschmann also issued an official statement about the situation to ABC News:

“The handwritten note that Cassidy Hutchinson testified was written by her was in fact written by Eric Herschmann on January 6, 2021. All sources with direct knowledge and law enforcement have and will confirm that it was written by Mr. Herschmann.”

Meanwhile, Hutchinson’s lawyers Jody Hunt and William Jordan told CNN that she will continue to stand by every statement she shared in her testimony:

“Ms. Hutchinson stands by all of the testimony she provided yesterday, under oath, to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.”

In response, the January 6 committee attempted to find common ground between the differing claims, and said that they believed both parties had wanted Trump to instruct his followers to leave the building:

“While we understand that she and Mr. Herschmann may have differing recollections of who wrote the note, what’s ultimately important is that both White House officials believed that the president should have immediately instructed his supporters to leave the Capitol building. The note memorialized this. But Mr. Trump did not take that action at the time.”

Trump eventually sent his followers a message nearly an hour after the riot began. The message read:

“We love you. You're very special. You've seen what happens. You've seen the way others are treated. I know how you feel, but go home, and go home in peace.”

In response to Hutchinson’s testimony, Trump called out the former White House aide on his social media site, Truth Social. He said:

“I hardly know who this person, Cassidy Hutchinson, is, other than I heard very negative things about her... and when she requested to go with certain others of the team to Florida after my having served a full term in office, I personally turned her request down. Why did she want to go with us if she felt we were so terrible?”

The former president also addressed the claims about the note and mocked Hutchinson, saying that the “bad handwriting” was from a “wacko.”