Grand Jury Rejects Indictment Against Former Aide Cassidy Hutchinson Over Jan. 6 Testimony

POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — Federal prosecutors have failed in their attempt to obtain an indictment against former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson concerning her testimony about the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Four individuals familiar with the grand jury proceedings confirmed that the panel declined to move forward with charges.

The Department of Justice has not provided a response to inquiries regarding the matter. The Washington Post was the first outlet to report that the grand jury had opted against indicting Hutchinson.

Hutchinson served as a senior aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Her 2022 testimony before the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot drew significant backlash from supporters and allies of Donald Trump.

During her appearances before the committee, Hutchinson stated that both Trump and Meadows received warnings on January 6 that attendees at the rally were armed. She alleged that Trump expressed indifference to the presence of weapons and attempted to have magnetometers removed from the event site.

Additionally, Hutchinson recounted details provided to her by Tony Ornato, the former deputy chief of staff. She testified that Ornato told her Trump became enraged when his Secret Service detail refused to transport him to the Capitol following his speech at the White House Ellipse, where he had urged supporters to march to the building as Congress certified the 2020 election results.

According to Hutchinson’s testimony, Ornato claimed that Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle. This specific account was later disputed by the driver of the vehicle, who testified under oath that the former president never made such an attempt.

Sources indicated that the investigation into Hutchinson has been managed by the Civil Rights Division. Jacob Rosen contributed to this report.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)