Grand Jury Refuses to Indict Cassidy Hutchinson Over Her January 6 Testimony

A federal grand jury in Washington declined on Tuesday to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide whose 2022 testimony to the House January 6 committee made her the panel’s best-known witness. The grand jury returned what is known as a no bill, meaning the prosecutors who presented the case did not persuade the required number of jurors that there was probable cause to charge her.

Hutchinson worked for Mark Meadows, President Donald Trump’s final chief of staff, and told the committee what she said she saw and heard inside the White House on January 6, 2021, including an account, relayed to her by others, of the president grabbing for the steering wheel of his limousine. Secret Service officials disputed that account. Hutchinson has said throughout that she testified truthfully.

The effort to charge her was run by officials in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which is led by Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump appointee. The grand jury heard evidence in early October, NBC News reported, citing a person familiar with the case, and her name was not spoken in open court when the no bill was returned. NBC News and CBS News reported no comment from the department or from Hutchinson’s lawyers.

The president has called Hutchinson a scam artist who lied under oath and has said more than once that she should be prosecuted. In March, House Republicans referred her to the Justice Department, and the president shared news of the referral. Supporters of the prosecution argue that lying to Congress is a crime regardless of who the witness is, and that a referral from the House deserves a serious look.

A no bill does not end the matter. Prosecutors can bring the same case to another grand jury, and this department has done so before: its attempts to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James failed three times. Other people the president has described as political enemies, including Senator Adam Schiff, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, have been investigated or charged during this term.

The string of failed cases has drawn the attention of the federal bench. The chief judge in Washington now requires the department to tell a magistrate judge whenever a grand jury rejects an indictment, a step that makes the pattern visible on the record. Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the failed prosecutions show the department is working hard.

The larger question is what a grand jury’s refusal means when the department keeps returning. Grand juries are meant to be a check on prosecutors, and in Washington they have now exercised it repeatedly in cases involving the president’s critics. Whether the department tries again with Hutchinson will say a good deal about how much weight that check still carries.