Justice Department seeks to charge Jan. 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson
Federal prosecutors have been showing a grand jury in Washington evidence that former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson lied to Congress. She was a key witness against Trump before the House Jan. 6 committee in 2022. No charge has been filed, and more evidence and witnesses are expected later this month.
The Justice Department is trying to charge former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson with lying to Congress, NBC News reported Thursday. Prosecutors have been presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington, D.C., CBS News reported.
Hutchinson was an aide to Mark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff, on Jan. 6, 2021. In 2022 she became a star witness for the House committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol. Her testimony angered Trump's base.
She told the committee Trump had been warned that some supporters were carrying weapons, but that he did not care and wanted the metal detectors taken away. She also repeated a story she said she heard from deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato. In it, Trump lunged at the steering wheel when his Secret Service agent would not drive him to the Capitol. Trump's driver later said under oath that the president never tried to grab the wheel. A 2024 House Republican report also disputed the story, the Washington Examiner reported.
The case is unusual in one way. It is being handled by the department's Civil Rights Division, led by Harmeet Dhillon, not the U.S. attorney's office in Washington. CBS News said it was not clear why. According to media reports, House Republicans made the referral.
Prosecutors brought evidence to the grand jury earlier this week and plan to present more evidence and witnesses later this month, according to Punchbowl News, which first reported the grand jury activity. It is not clear when the grand jury could decide. It is also not clear which parts of her testimony are under scrutiny. CBS News said it reached out to her lawyers.
After Trump returned to office in January 2025, he pardoned or commuted the sentences of people convicted for the Capitol riot. The House impeached him over the riot in 2021, and the Senate acquitted him. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
What we know: A federal grand jury in Washington is hearing evidence on whether Hutchinson lied to Congress.
What we don't: Which statements prosecutors say were false, and whether the grand jury will indict her.
Where outlets agree NBC News and the Washington Examiner both report that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is pursuing a charge that Hutchinson lied to Congress.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.