CNN analyst and former Trump White House senior aide, Alyssa Farah Griffin, has revealed that she remembers Cassidy Hutchinson complaining about Rudy Giuliani’s behavior, describing it as “creepy or handsy” around the same time that Hutchinson alleges Giuliani groped her. Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, recently made headlines with her testimony to the January 6 committee, where she detailed the incident involving Giuliani.
During an appearance on CNN Primetime, Griffin shared her recollection of Hutchinson’s concerns about Giuliani’s behavior, emphasizing that women in the Trump White House did not want to be around Giuliani, and she asserted that former President Trump was aware of these sentiments.
Griffin stated that she trusted Hutchinson implicitly and recalled a conversation from about two years ago in which Hutchinson alluded to Giuliani being “creepy or handsy.” She also provided context about Giuliani’s reputation within the White House at that time, describing him as a “wild card” and someone who was unpredictable. Griffin alluded to concerns within the White House that Giuliani may have been inebriated during his visits, and this led to cautionary measures, such as not allowing him to do television appearances from the White House lawn and being selective about his participation in meetings.
When asked about witnessing inappropriate behavior by Giuliani or hearing other women express concerns, Griffin explained that she did not personally witness sexual harassment but had a sense that Giuliani was not in control of himself. She described a general feeling among women in the White House that they did not want to be in his presence due to his unpredictable behavior.
Griffin also highlighted that even former President Trump acknowledged Giuliani’s changed demeanor over the years, openly acknowledging that Giuliani was not the same as he had been 20 or 30 years ago. This recognition of Giuliani’s altered state of being was known to Trump, despite their long-standing friendship and association.
The revelations from Griffin shed light on the atmosphere within the Trump White House concerning Giuliani’s behavior and reputation, offering further context to Cassidy Hutchinson’s allegations against the former mayor of New York City.
PHILLIP: She said Giuliani put his hand under her skirt, or under her blazer, then her skirt while they were backstage during Trump’s speech. She told you about this?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, I trust her implicitly. I remember about two years ago, her alluding to something, and I don’t want to misrepresent the words, either he was creepy or handsy with me.
But to put it into bigger context, those of us who were working the West Wing at that time knew that Rudy Giuliani was a wild card. He was something who was unpredictable. Being careful on how I say this, there were concerns, I don’t know if they’re true, that he would come to the White House campus inebriated.
So, that was something that even up to the former president’s level, there would be concerns, don’t let him do television hits from the White House lawn, be cautious about what meetings he’s in. And, frankly, the pattern of behavior makes sense to me. It doesn’t surprise me. It’s horrifying. It does not make it acceptable. And just big picture, this is such a historic, horrifying, bad moment for our country, this rally that’s happening on The Ellipse, the attempt to overthrow the election. And in that moment, this is also happening. I don’t think you can really fully process how significant that is, but I believe her implicitly.
PHILLIP: It’s layers upon layers here. And just so people understand, I mean, this idea that Rudy Giuliani was inebriated has come up before on the night of the election, for example, that’s been reported. But had you ever witnessed Giuliani doing inappropriate things, other women being concerned about being around him yourself perhaps?
GRIFFIN: My sense with Giuliani was I didn’t witness so much probably the sexual harassment. It was just there was a sense that he was not in control of himself, that he was somebody who was liable to say anything, to do anything. And there was a sense among women in the White House that you didn’t want to be around him. So, I think there may have been sort of that almost unspoken idea of like there’s something off here, you don’t want to be near him.
And, by the way, the former president knew it. Even though they’ve been friends for many years and there’re these times that they’re close, he obviously called him when his White House counsel gave him the counsel he did not want, he recognized that Rudy Giuliani was not the man he was 20, 30 years ago.
He recognized and openly talked about the fact that he had really kind of had been come debilitated from who he previously was.
