Grand Jury Declines Indictment Of Former White House Aide Hutchinson

A grand jury in Washington did not return an indictment against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday.

Hutchinson served as a special assistant to Mark Meadows, then Trump's chief of staff. She testified before a House committee in 2022 at a hearing announced 24 hours beforehand. She told the committee that on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Trump wanted armed protesters at the rally to pass through security screening. She also said Trump grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV after Secret Service agents declined to drive him to the Capitol. When the crowd at the Capitol began chanting "Hang Mike Pence," she said Trump declined to intervene.

Republican lawmakers later accused Hutchinson of lying under oath about those events. Trump denied much of her account on Truth Social, calling her a "total phony" and "bad news."

Hutchinson acknowledged during her testimony that she did not witness the SUV incident herself. She said a White House security official told her about it. In March 2024, House Republicans released a transcript of the Select Committee's interview with the Secret Service officer who drove the vehicle. That driver said Trump "never grabbed the steering wheel" and that he did not see any lunge toward the front seat. The transcript did confirm Trump wanted to go to the Capitol.

Hutchinson also told the committee that a former lawyer, previously an ethics counsel in the Trump White House, told her "the less you remember, the better." She said she felt it was wrong because her loyalty was to the truth. The former attorney has disputed her account. Hutchinson's lawyer said Tuesday she declined to comment on the grand jury's decision.

Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that prosecutors had asked the grand jury to indict Hutchinson. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly. Grand juries rarely decline to return an indictment when prosecutors request one.

The Justice Department has pursued other politically sensitive matters in Washington in recent weeks. Prosecutors brought a new attempt against former FBI Director James Comey, and federal agents searched the home of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Earlier this year, a Washington grand jury also declined to indict Democratic lawmakers over a video they recorded about military orders.

Hutchinson, a native of Pennington, New Jersey, previously worked in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. She interned for Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. The House impeached Trump in 2021 over the Capitol attack, and the Senate later acquitted him.