Justice Department Seeks to Charge Cassidy Hutchinson, Key January 6 Witness

Federal prosecutors are seeking to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide whose testimony about January 6, 2021, became one of the most memorable moments of the House investigation into the attack on the Capitol, on a charge of lying to Congress, according to a person familiar with the effort who spoke to NBC News.

CBS News reported that prosecutors have been presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington. It could not determine which parts of Hutchinson’s testimony are under scrutiny. The renewed grand jury activity was first reported by Punchbowl News, according to CBS. The Guardian reported that a Justice Department spokesperson said the department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations.

In an unusual arrangement, the case is being handled by the department’s Civil Rights Division rather than the United States attorney’s office in Washington, which would normally take a matter involving testimony before Congress. The New York Times reported in April that the division had been assigned the investigation, and it was not clear why, the Guardian noted. According to media reports cited by CBS, the referral came from Republican allies of President Donald Trump in the House.

Hutchinson, then an aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified in 2022 that Trump and Meadows had been told that some supporters gathering near the Capitol were armed, and that Trump said he did not care. She also recounted a story she said she had heard from Tony Ornato, then a deputy chief of staff, that Trump had lunged toward the steering wheel of his vehicle when his security detail refused to take him to the Capitol. Trump’s driver later said in sworn testimony that the president never grabbed the wheel, and Republicans have long disputed her account.

Supporters of the investigation argue that lying to Congress is a crime no matter who is accused, and that conflicting sworn accounts deserve a hard look. That argument carries weight in principle. But Hutchinson testified that she was relaying what Ornato had told her, and she was one of many witnesses to describe the events of that day; prosecutors would need to show that she knowingly made false statements, not merely that others remember things differently.

Critics see a pattern. The Justice Department under Trump has brought cases against several of his political adversaries. Last year it indicted former FBI Director James Comey on a charge of lying to Congress and New York Attorney General Letitia James on mortgage fraud charges; both indictments were thrown out after a judge ruled that the prosecutor who brought them had been unlawfully appointed. The Guardian reported that the department has since filed a new indictment against Comey.

CBS News said it had sought comment from Hutchinson’s lawyers. No charges had been announced as of Thursday.