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A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to indict former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on charges of lying to Congress, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The Justice Department and Hutchinson had not publicly commented in the report, and details of the grand jury proceedings remain unknown.
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to indict former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on charges of lying to Congress about her testimony to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The reported decision means the Justice Department did not secure an indictment on the proposed charges; the department had not publicly commented when ABC published its report.
The Justice Department had sought charges over Hutchinson’s testimony before the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6, according to ABC News. The report, which cited sources familiar with the matter, did not specify when the grand jury considered the case, what evidence prosecutors presented, or why jurors declined to indict. A grand jury’s refusal to return an indictment is not a finding that every statement at issue was true; the available report does not describe the panel’s reasoning.
Hutchinson, a senior aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testified publicly to the committee in 2022. Among the accounts she relayed was a story she said had been told to her secondhand: that President Donald Trump lunged toward the steering wheel of his presidential vehicle after speaking at the Ellipse on Jan. 6. Trump has strongly denied that account. ABC reported that other White House employees did not corroborate the specific detail about the alleged lunge.
Hutchinson has maintained that she stands by her testimony, ABC reported. She could not immediately be reached for comment, and a Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request. The Washington Post first reported that the grand jury had declined to indict her, according to ABC.
A Setback for the Proposed Case
The decision blocks the Justice Department from moving forward on the charges through this grand jury, at least on the basis reported. It also leaves unresolved the department’s effort to challenge Hutchinson’s congressional testimony through a criminal case. The report does not establish whether prosecutors will take further steps, such as presenting evidence to another grand jury, or whether they will end the effort.
The matter carries political weight because Hutchinson’s testimony became a prominent part of the public record about the events surrounding Jan. 6. Trump and other Republicans have criticized her account, particularly the secondhand story about the vehicle. The distinction matters: the grand jury outcome is confirmed through sources cited by ABC, while the reasons for the decision and any broader conclusions about her testimony have not been made public.
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Hutchinson’s Jan. 6 Testimony
Hutchinson testified at a public hearing of the House Select Committee on June 28, 2022. She was a former aide to Meadows, whose role placed her in the White House during the period examined by the committee. Her testimony included both accounts of events she said she witnessed and information she said she learned from others; ABC’s report says the specific steering-wheel account was secondhand and was not corroborated by other White House employees.
ABC also noted that former special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 election, said he chose not to treat Hutchinson as a material witness after determining that much of her testimony was hearsay. That was a separate prosecutorial judgment, not a ruling by the grand jury in Hutchinson’s case. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in Smith’s case, which was ultimately dismissed, ABC reported.
“A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., refused to indict Cassidy Hutchinson.”
— Sources familiar with the matter, as reported by ABC News
Reasons for the Jury’s Decision
ABC’s report does not identify the date of the grand jury’s decision, the precise charges prosecutors proposed, the evidence presented, or the reason jurors declined to indict. It is also unclear whether the Justice Department intends to pursue the matter again. No public response from the department or Hutchinson was available to ABC at the time of publication.
The reported outcome does not resolve the factual disputes surrounding Hutchinson’s testimony. Trump has denied the account about the steering wheel, and ABC reported that other White House employees did not corroborate that specific detail. The available information does not establish what the grand jury concluded about any individual statement or whether it reached a conclusion about the broader testimony.
Any Further DOJ Action
The next development would be a public statement or filing from the Justice Department, or further reporting clarifying whether prosecutors plan to take additional action. ABC said the department had not responded to its request for comment when the story was published, and it did not report a timetable for any next step.
Until more information becomes public, the confirmed point is limited: sources told ABC News that the Washington grand jury declined to indict Hutchinson on the proposed charges. The status of any continuing investigation, the government’s legal options, and the jury’s reasoning remain unknown.
Key Questions
What did the grand jury decide?
Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on charges of lying to Congress over her Jan. 6 committee testimony.
What testimony was at issue?
The Justice Department had sought charges related to Hutchinson’s testimony before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Her testimony included a secondhand account that Trump lunged for his vehicle’s steering wheel. Trump denied the account, and ABC reported that other White House employees did not corroborate that specific detail.
Why did the grand jury decline to indict her?
The reason has not been made public in the information reported by ABC News. The report does not describe the evidence presented or the jurors’ deliberations.
Does the decision establish that Hutchinson’s testimony was accurate?
No. A decision not to return an indictment does not, by itself, establish that every part of her testimony was accurate. The available report does not say what conclusions, if any, the grand jury reached about particular statements.
Has the Justice Department said whether it will take further action?
ABC News reported that a Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The report did not say whether prosecutors plan to pursue additional steps.
Source: abcnews.com
