Federal grand jury declines to indict Cassidy Hutchinson

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., rejected a Justice Department attempt to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday, according to multiple outlets. ABC News (US) reports the Department had sought charges of lying to Congress regarding her testimony before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The Hill and Axios note that Justice Department attorney Neville Hedley informed a U.S. Magistrate Judge that the grand jury could not agree on an indictment.

Hutchinson provided testimony in 2022 concerning President Trump's actions during the Capitol insurrection. Axios reports her testimony included claims that she was told Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent, that he knew some supporters were armed, and that Mark Meadows had been warned of potential violence. ABC News (US) notes that Republicans have sought to undercut her testimony, specifically regarding a secondhand account of Trump lunging for a steering wheel, a detail Trump has denied and which other White House employees did not corroborate.

The failure to secure an indictment is described by ABC News (US) and Axios as a setback for the Justice Department in its efforts to prosecute perceived political enemies of the President. PBS NewsHour notes that the testimony Hutchinson provided was considered powerful due to her role as special assistant to Mark Meadows.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, ABC News (US), PBS NewsHour, Axios, Winnipeg Free Press — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.