A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on Tuesday following Justice Department efforts to pursue criminal charges over her 2022 congressional testimony concerning Donald Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Federal prosecutors in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sought the indictment in U.S. District Court, aiming to charge Cassidy Hutchinson with making false statements to Congress. During Tuesday afternoon proceedings around 4:30 p.m., a federal prosecutor reported a grand jury’s non-concurrence to U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, according to court observers and sources familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The panel returned what is known as a no bill or non-concurrence, signifying that a majority of the grand jurors failed to reach an agreement to return an indictment requested by the department. Her name was not mentioned in the courtroom when the no bill was announced, but sources confirmed it was the Hutchinson case. It marks an extraordinary rejection for prosecutors in Washington, where grand juries rarely turn down indictments requested by the government.
Disputed Testimony From the 2022 House Committee Hearings
The investigation centers on explosive testimony Hutchinson delivered in June 28, 2022, during a surprise hearing announced just 24 hours earlier before the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
According to that account, Donald Trump grew angry and defiant upon learning he would not be driven to the Capitol, asking if anyone heard what happened in the vehicle and lunging toward the steering wheel or attempting to get into the front seat after security officials refused.
Trump immediately rejected those assertions on Truth Social, calling her a “total phony” and “bad news.” Secret Service officials subsequently disputed aspects of her account, and House Republicans later released a transcript in March 2024 from the presidential limo driver who stated he never saw an altercation and that Trump never grabbed the steering wheel, though Hutchinson had acknowledged during her testimony that she was relaying what she heard from a security official and did not have firsthand knowledge because she was not there.
Recent Prosecutorial Setbacks in Washington
Federal prosecutors in Washington have faced repeated hurdles in securing grand jury buy-in for high-profile cases.
The Justice Department has previously pursued cases or investigations involving other figures, including former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. In recent weeks, prosecutors have filed separate criminal cases in U.S. District Court against Comey and two former FBI officials with charging documents other than grand jury indictments, even though prosecutors would typically seek a grand jury indictment in such matters.
The failure to secure an indictment in the Hutchinson matter is the latest in a string of such denials in cases brought against those Trump has portrayed as his political enemies.
Legal Standing and Future Options for Prosecutors
A grand jury’s refusal to return an indictment does not bar the Justice Department from attempting to charge Hutchinson again in the future. Prosecutors retain the option to present evidence and revised arguments to a fresh grand jury panel.
Hutchinson, a Pennington, New Jersey native who previously worked in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs and interned for congressional Republicans including Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, has maintained that her congressional testimony was truthful.
Attorneys for Hutchinson did not immediately reply to requests for comment following the grand jury’s decision.
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