Grand Jury Declines to Indict Former Trump Aide Cassidy Hutchinson

A federal grand jury in Washington has rejected a Justice Department request to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, according to two people familiar with the matter. Hutchinson provided dramatic testimony to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

The decision marks a significant development in the Justice Department's efforts to bring politically sensitive cases before grand juries in the nation's capital.

Details regarding the specific allegations prosecutors presented to the grand jury remain unclear. However, Republican lawmakers had previously accused Hutchinson of lying under oath regarding former President Donald Trump's conduct on Jan. 6, the day a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results.

Hutchinson's testimony, delivered at a surprise hearing in 2022, was considered particularly impactful due to her close proximity to power as special assistant to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. She described Trump as angry and defiant on Jan. 6, alleging he attempted to direct armed protesters to bypass security screenings and later tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential SUV when Secret Service agents refused to take him to the Capitol. Hutchinson also testified that Trump did not intervene when the crowd began chanting "Hang Mike Pence."

Trump, at the time of her testimony, denied many of her claims on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling Hutchinson a "total phony."

A key point of contention in Hutchinson's account was her description of an altercation inside the presidential SUV. She acknowledged during her testimony that she was relaying information from a White House security official and did not have firsthand knowledge of the event herself. In March 2024, House Republicans released a transcript of a Secret Service officer's interview, which contradicted some aspects of Hutchinson's account, including the claim that Trump grabbed the steering wheel. The driver stated that Trump "never grabbed the steering wheel" and did not attempt to enter the front seat.

Hutchinson has also alleged that individuals close to Trump offered her job opportunities and financial assistance while she was cooperating with the committee. She further testified that a former attorney, who had served as ethics counsel in the Trump White House, advised her that "the less you remember, the better." This account has been disputed by the former attorney.

In 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump on charges of inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol, though he was later acquitted by the Senate. The Justice Department under the Biden administration charged Trump with felony offenses related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, but the case was later dropped. Longstanding Justice Department policy states that sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution.