Enough

by Cassidy Hutchinson

I was soaking up the last few minutes of the day’s sun in my parents’ backyard before I drove back to Washington when my phone vibrated with a call from Stefan. He had been trying to reach me all day. I was trying to put him off until I switched legal counsel the following day. I answered the call and apologized for not having answered. Stefan was unfazed and picked up where we had left off about the contempt charge. I lay in the grass and stared into the cloudless sky, half listening as he droned on about how not cooperating with the committee was best for everyone. “Everyone” did not include the tens of millions of Americans who had been lied to about the results of a free, fair, and democratic election; it did not include the families of law enforcement officers who had lost their lives defending the Capitol from the mob Trump had called to Washington. “Everyone” did not include the lawmakers, staff, and journalists who feared for their lives as rioters bludgeoned their way into the building. It did not include the investigators who were being stonewalled by former colleagues of mine who dismissed the investigation as a politically motivated witch hunt. “Everyone” who would benefit from my ceasing to cooperate with the January 6th Committee was limited to people in Trump World whose personal interests could be affected by my testimony. In less than twenty-four hours, they would all find out that I was no longer protecting “everyone.” I had found my way out.