The Justice Department on Tuesday failed to obtain a grand jury indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide whose dramatic—and contested—testimony before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack implicated President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A Washington grand jury rejected prosecutors’ request to indict Hutchinson, the sources said. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the proceedings publicly. The decision represents another setback for the Justice Department as it seeks to advance politically sensitive cases in the nation’s capital.
The specific allegations prosecutors presented against Hutchinson were not immediately known. Republican lawmakers, however, have accused her of lying under oath during her explosive 2022 testimony about Trump’s conduct on Jan. 6, when his supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from certifying his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
The proposed indictment came amid a broader wave of politically charged Justice Department actions ahead of next week’s midterm elections. The department has targeted several people viewed as adversaries of the president, including a renewed effort to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and a search of the Minnesota home of outspoken Trump critic and Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Grand juries rarely refuse prosecutors’ requests to issue indictments. Yet under Trump, Washington jurors have rejected the Justice Department’s position in several prominent cases. Earlier this year, one grand jury declined to indict Democratic lawmakers over a video in which they urged U.S. service members to follow military protocols and refuse orders they believed were unlawful.
Hutchinson declined to comment through her attorney Tuesday.
Hutchinson said Trump was angry and defiant on Jan. 6
At the time, Hutchinson’s testimony drew particular attention because of her close access to the president. She served as a special assistant to Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, and testified at a surprise hearing announced only 24 hours in advance.
Hutchinson portrayed Trump as angry and defiant. She said he wanted armed demonstrators to bypass security screening at a morning rally protesting his 2020 election loss. She also testified that Trump grabbed for the steering wheel of the presidential SUV after the Secret Service refused to take him to the Capitol. As violence erupted and the crowd chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” Hutchinson said Trump chose not to intervene.
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Trump rejected much of Hutchinson’s account at the time in posts on his Truth Social platform, calling her a “total phony” and “bad news.”
Her account of the confrontation inside the presidential SUV was among the most explosive parts of her testimony. Hutchinson acknowledged, however, that she had learned about the episode from a White House security official and had not witnessed it herself.
The account was soon challenged.
In March 2024, House Republicans released a previously confidential transcript of an interview with the Secret Service officer who drove the SUV. The driver disputed portions of Hutchinson’s testimony while supporting other elements, including her account that Trump wanted to go to the Capitol and join the crowd.
The driver said Trump was insistent on reaching the Capitol but said he did not witness the altercation Hutchinson described. He testified that Trump “never grabbed the steering wheel” and added, “I didn’t see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all.”
Hutchinson has also accused members of Trump’s inner circle of offering potential jobs and financial help while she cooperated with the committee. In a closed-door interview later released by the panel, she said a former attorney—who had served as an ethics counsel in the Trump White House—advised her that “the less you remember, the better.”
“It feels ridiculous, because in my heart I knew where my loyalties lied, and my loyalties lied with the truth,” Hutchinson told the committee. “And I never wanted to diverge from that.” The former attorney has denied her characterization of the conversation.
The House impeached Trump in 2021, accusing him of inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol, but the Senate later acquitted him. Under President Biden, the Justice Department charged Trump with felonies related to efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat before the Capitol attack. Special counsel Jack Smith ultimately dropped the case after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Longstanding Justice Department policy holds that a sitting president cannot be criminally prosecuted.
Hutchinson, who is from Pennington, New Jersey, formerly worked in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. She also held internships with Republican lawmakers, including Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
