A federal grand jury in Washington declined on Tuesday to indict former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on charges of lying to Congress over her testimony before the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.7,8
The Justice Department had sought the charges. The Washington Post first reported that the grand jury had refused to return an indictment, and the outcome was subsequently confirmed by people familiar with the matter.5,6,7,8
Two people who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case, said the grand jury rejected prosecutors' request to charge Hutchinson. Details of the prosecutors' allegations against her were not immediately clear.5,8
Hutchinson worked as a special assistant to Mark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff, and became a witness before the House committee. Her account came at a surprise hearing in June 2022 that had been announced just 24 hours earlier, and at the time it was seen as particularly powerful given her proximity to power.7,8
Hutchinson described an angry, defiant president who tried to let armed protesters avoid security screenings at a rally on the morning of Jan. 6. She also testified that Trump later grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV when the Secret Service refused to let him go to the Capitol, and that he declined to intervene as the crowd chanted "Hang Mike Pence." ABC News reported that the steering wheel account was a story she said had been relayed to her secondhand.7,8
Trump has vehemently denied the steering wheel account, and other White House employees did not corroborate the specific detail about Trump lunging. At the time, Trump denied much of what Hutchinson said on his Truth Social platform and called her a "total phony" and "bad news."7,8
Hutchinson has alleged that members of Trump's inner circle dangled job opportunities and financial assistance while she was cooperating with the committee. She also testified that her own lawyer, a former ethics counsel in the Trump White House, told her: "The less you remember, the better."8
Former special counsel Jack Smith, who indicted Trump over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, has said he opted not to treat Hutchinson as a material witness after determining that much of her testimony was based on hearsay.7
Republicans have long sought to undercut Hutchinson's testimony, and Republican lawmakers had accused her of lying under oath. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges related to Jan. 6, and Smith's case against him was ultimately dismissed.7,8
Hutchinson has maintained that she stands by her testimony. She could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.7
The decision is the latest setback for the Justice Department in its efforts to charge perceived adversaries of the Republican president. Critics have called the department's support of those efforts a campaign of retribution by Trump, a characterization the department has not addressed in the reports.7,8
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the reports did not say whether prosecutors could seek a new indictment.7
