Grand jury declines to indict Cassidy Hutchinson over Jan. 6 testimony

A Washington grand jury declined to indict Cassidy Hutchinson on Oct. 27 after federal prosecutors sought charges connected to her testimony about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. CBS News reported the decision, citing four people briefed on the proceedings; the Associated Press separately cited two people familiar with the matter. The decision leaves the former White House aide without the charges prosecutors sought.

The Washington Post first reported the grand jury’s refusal, CBS said. AP reported that the two people who described the decision were not authorized to discuss the case publicly. The precise allegations prosecutors presented and the parts of Hutchinson’s testimony they examined were not immediately clear. The Justice Department had not responded to CBS’s request for comment.

Why Cassidy Hutchinson’s Jan. 6 testimony drew scrutiny

Hutchinson also recounted a story she said she heard from then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato. According to her testimony, Trump became angry when the Secret Service would not take him to the Capitol and tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle. Her account of that incident was secondhand.

Trump denied much of Hutchinson’s account at the time, AP reported. A Secret Service driver later said in sworn testimony that Trump did not grab the steering wheel or lunge toward the front seat; the driver said he did not see the altercation Hutchinson described. AP reported that a transcript released by House Republicans in March 2024 contradicted some of her account while corroborating other parts, including Trump’s attempt to go to the Capitol.

Republican lawmakers accused Hutchinson of lying under oath, AP reported. CBS said media reports described a referral to the Justice Department by Trump’s House Republican allies. CBS also reported, citing its sources, that the department’s Civil Rights Division handled the investigation.