Trump allies paid legal fees for multiple Jan. 6 witnesses, including Cassidy Hutchinson, sparking witness-influencing concerns, report says

• Pro-Trump groups paid the legal fees for multiple January 6 witnesses, the NYT reported.
• It includes Cassidy Hutchinson, who later fired her lawyer and gave damning testimony, the NYT said.

Former President Donald Trump's allies and supporters paid the legal fees for multiple people who had provided testimony to the January 6 committee, including the former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, The New York Times reported.

Hutchinson eventually fired the lawyer who was paid for by a pro-Trump group, and went on to provide damning testimony about Trump, the report said.

Two sources familiar with the committee told The Times that they believe Hutchinson's decision to part ways with the lawyer — who had been recommended by Trump allies and paid for by a pro-Trump PAC — likely played a role in her decision to provide new evidence.

Her previous attorney was Stefan Passantino, who worked as an ethics lawyer for the Trump White House, Reuters reported. Hutchinson provided the testimony about Trump's actions in taped interviews behind closed doors and on Tuesday in stunning testimony to the committee after hiring a new lawyer, Jody Hunt.

According to two people familiar with the matter, Hutchinson had initially approached Trump's team for help with legal representation after being subpoenaed by the committee.

Insider has contacted Passatino, Hunt, and Trump's office for comment.

Hutchinson, a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, claimed that Trump sought to join protesters he knew were armed as they marched towards the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to delay Joe Biden's certification as president.

According to the Times report, pro-Trump groups had fully or partially paid for the legal fees of dozens of January 6 committee witnesses, including the former White House advisor Stephen Miller, who provided testimony to the committee behind closed doors in April. The Times did not identify other witnesses whose legal fees Trump allies allegedly helped pay for.

In particular, Trump's Save America PAC has paid the legal fees of several former Trump officials who had testified to the committee, while the American Conservative Union's "First Amendment Fund" has provided legal consultation for around a dozen witnesses or paid for their legal bills, The Times reported.

The reported arrangements raise concerns that Trump is seeking to influence witnesses in the investigation. The committee has also shown messages from Trump allies to witnesses apparently warning them against testifying.

There are no laws against a third party paying for a witness' legal representation in a congressional inquiry, but the situation may raise some ethical concerns, according to the report. Witness tampering, however, is a federal crime.