Grand Jury Declines to Charge Former White House Aide Hutchinson in D.C. Case
The decision marks a setback for prosecutors as the Justice Department pursues politically sensitive matters ahead of next week's midterm elections.
By Takeshi Davidson ·
A federal grand jury in Washington declined on Tuesday to authorize an indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who testified about President Donald Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
Two people familiar with the proceedings told The Associated Press that prosecutors had sought a true bill against Hutchinson but the jurors rejected the request. The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly. Details of the specific allegations prosecutors presented to the grand jury were not immediately clear.
The vote does not end the matter, and it is not immediately known whether prosecutors plan to present the case to a new grand jury or drop it. The Justice Department declined to comment. A lawyer for Hutchinson said she would not comment.
Republican lawmakers accused Hutchinson of lying under oath about the events at the Capitol, where a crowd of Trump supporters stormed the building to halt the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. The House Select Committee investigating the attack heard from Hutchinson at a hearing announced 24 hours in advance. At the time, she served as special assistant to Mark Meadows, then the White House chief of staff.
She described a president who was angry and defiant that day. She testified that Trump wanted armed rally attendees to bypass security screening, then tried to reach the steering wheel of the presidential SUV after the Secret Service declined to drive him to the Capitol. When the crowd began chanting "Hang Mike Pence," she said, Trump did not intervene. Trump denied much of her account on Truth Social, calling her a "total phony" and "bad news."
Her account of the vehicle incident drew the most scrutiny. Hutchinson acknowledged at the hearing that she was relaying what a White House security official told her and did not witness the episode herself. In March 2024, House Republicans released a previously undisclosed transcript of the Select Committee's interview with the Secret Service officer who drove the vehicle. The driver said Trump "never grabbed the steering wheel" and "didn't see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all." The same transcript corroborated other parts of her testimony, including Trump's attempt to reach the Capitol.
Hutchinson has said members of Trump's inner circle offered job opportunities and financial assistance while she cooperated with the committee. In a closed-door interview, she testified that a former lawyer told her "the less you remember, the better." That attorney has disputed her account.
Grand juries rarely decline to return an indictment when prosecutors request one. A Washington grand jury earlier this year also declined to indict Democratic lawmakers over a video urging service members to follow military protocols and reject orders they consider unlawful.
The case sits alongside a cluster of politically sensitive Justice Department actions before next week's midterm elections. Prosecutors have moved again against former FBI Director James Comey, and federal agents searched the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat and Trump critic.
Hutchinson, a native of Pennington, New Jersey, previously worked in the Office of Legislative Affairs and interned for Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Trump was impeached by the House in 2021 for inciting the mob and acquitted by the Senate. Special counsel Jack Smith dropped his election interference case after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
