A federal grand jury in Washington has declined to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson over her testimony to the congressional panel that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, according to Reuters, the Associated Press and other outlets citing sources familiar with the matter.
Hutchinson, whose 2022 testimony described then-President Donald Trump’s actions on the day his supporters stormed the Capitol, has been investigated by the Trump administration’s Justice Department over whether she gave false testimony. She has maintained that her testimony was truthful. A federal prosecutor told US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui during a court hearing on Tuesday that a grand jury had rejected an indictment, though the prosecutor did not reveal in court the proposed defendant or charges; sources identified the case as Hutchinson’s.
Another setback for the DOJ
The rejection is the latest in a series of setbacks for Justice Department efforts to charge people Trump views as adversaries. NBC News has reported that grand juries also refused to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James three times after her first case was dismissed, and former FBI Director James Comey has now been charged a third time, with a dismissal hearing set for Friday.
Political experts have raised concerns about efforts by the administration to target critics and political opponents. After weeks of Trump’s false claims that he had won the 2020 election, his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent certification of the results. Trump pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged over the attack on his first day back in office in January 2025.
What happens next
A grand jury’s refusal — known as a no-bill — does not bar prosecutors from asking another grand jury to charge Hutchinson, nor from filing a criminal information that bypasses the grand jury but still requires judicial approval. It is not yet known whether prosecutors will try again or how the jury voted. The House Select Committee’s oversight work on the January 6 investigation continues, with further subpoenas possible based on new evidence.
