Washington Grand Jury Spares Cassidy Hutchinson: No Indictment Issued

A grand jury in Washington, D.C., rejected the Justice Department's request to indict Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday. The decision marks a notable failure for federal prosecutors who sought to charge the former White House staffer. Two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press that the jury declined to return the indictment. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

The outcome is the latest setback for the Justice Department as it moves forward with politically sensitive actions. These efforts are intensifying in the days before the midterm elections next week. The department has targeted perceived adversaries of President Donald Trump in recent weeks. That includes a new attempt to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey. Federal agents also searched the home of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

Hutchinson provided dramatic testimony in 2022 to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. At the time, she served as a special assistant to Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff. Her account described an angry and defiant president on the day the crowd stormed the Capitol. She stated that Trump was trying to let armed protesters bypass security screenings at a rally. She also claimed he later grabbed the steering wheel of the presidential SUV when Secret Service agents refused to let him go to the Capitol.

Republican lawmakers accused Hutchinson of lying under oath during that 2022 testimony. Details of the specific allegations prosecutors brought before the grand jury were not immediately clear. The dispute over her account has persisted for several years. In March 2024, House Republicans released a transcript of an interview with the Secret Service officer who drove the presidential SUV that day.

The driver’s transcript contradicted some of Hutchinson’s claims but supported others. The officer stated that Trump was insistent on going to the Capitol. However, he said he did not see the altercation described by Hutchinson. The driver testified that Trump never grabbed the steering wheel. He added that he did not see the president lunge to get into the front seat.

Hutchinson acknowledged during her initial testimony that she was relaying information from a White House security official. She noted she did not have firsthand knowledge of the SUV episode because she was not present. Trump denied much of her account on his social media platform, Truth Social. He called her a total phony and bad news.

Hutchinson has alleged that members of Trump’s inner circle dangled job opportunities and financial assistance while she cooperated with the committee. She also testified in a closed-door interview that a former lawyer told her the less you remember, the better. The former attorney has disputed that account. Hutchinson told the committee that her loyalties lied with the truth and she never wanted to diverge from that.

It is highly unusual for a grand jury to decline to return an indictment. The Justice Department under Trump has faced similar rejections in other high-profile cases. Earlier this year, a Washington grand jury declined to indict Democratic lawmakers. Those lawmakers had recorded a video urging U.S. service members to follow established military protocols and reject unlawful orders.

Hutchinson declined to comment through her lawyer on Tuesday. The former aide is a native of Pennington, New Jersey. She previously worked in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs and interned for Republicans, including Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.