Former President Trump is bracing for an explosive day of testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide and assistant to chief of staff Mark Meadows who previously told the House select committee that Trump approved of rioters chanting violent threats against former Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Trump has previously denied reporting on Hutchinson's leaked testimony, claiming on his Truth Social platform earlier this month that he "never said, or even thought of saying, 'Hang Mike Pence.'" 

"This is either a made up story by somebody looking to become a star, or fake news!" he wrote at the time. 

But a person close to Trump said he is nervous about Tuesday's hearing, which will feature live testimony from Hutchison and "present recently obtained evidence," the committee announced Monday. Prior to the committee's announcement on Monday, this person said Trump was feeling triumphant amid back-to-back Supreme Court decisions protecting a right to conceal carry a gun and ending the constitutional right to abortion. 

The former President and his allies are planning to cast Hutchinson as a junior aide who had little influence inside the West Wing, despite her proximity to both Trump and his chief of staff. Hutchinson served in the Office of Legislative Affairs prior to becoming a top aide to Meadows and was an eyewitness to several key episodes leading up to Jan. 6, in addition to witnessing some of Trump's real-time reactions that day.  

Trump is specifically concerned about what Hutchinson could say about his state of mind and response to the rioters on Jan. 6, said a second person close to him. 

Former Trump White House aides are also very curious to see what Hutchinson has to say in this upcoming surprise hearing, given her constant access to Meadows during key moments in the White House.

Meadows made Hutchinson his legislative aide even though she was only in her 20s when he was chief of staff, and she would accompany Meadows to Capitol Hill for his most serious meetings. Hutchinson was with Meadows "all the time,” one former White House official said. Another source added, “she had very close access to Meadows and Trump, so it will be interesting what she says.” 

One former White House aide said Hutchinson had a falling-out with Meadows in 2021. She was supposed to go to Mar-a-Lago as permanent staff but that never ended up happening. 

A person close to Hutchinson said she has testified to the committee for at least 20 hours detailing her time in key meetings at the White House as Trump and his allies tried to overturn the election results. So far, the committee has only played small snippets from all that testimony, so there is a lot more to learn from her today. As to why she’s doing this amid all the security concerns, this source says she “got caught up in this” as a young staffer in her early 20s and wanted to do the right thing.

One source said “she was the consummate insider” and was on a first-name basis with most congressional leadership.

Another person added Trump will likely claim he doesn’t know her but she was in many key White House meetings with him.