A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to then-President Donald Trump, after prosecutors sought charges alleging she lied to Congress in her 2022 testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee.
The grand jury’s decision, confirmed by multiple sources, marks the latest in a series of rejections of indictment requests by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., since early 2025. The panel returned a “no bill,” meaning it rejected the Justice Department’s effort to secure an indictment without publicly naming Hutchinson.
Prosecutors’ focus and timeline
Federal prosecutors, operating under the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, pursued charges based on Hutchinson’s testimony before the now-defunct House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The investigation centered on statements Hutchinson made about Trump’s actions and statements surrounding the events of that day.
The grand jury proceedings occurred in open court on Tuesday, with Senior DOJ lawyer Neville Hedley informing Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui of the decision. The court did not publicly identify Hutchinson during the announcement, but sources confirmed the case involved her.
Hutchinson’s contested testimony
Hutchinson, who served as a senior aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, provided testimony in June 2022 that included several controversial claims. Among them, she alleged that Trump and Meadows were warned on Jan. 6 that some of his supporters were carrying weapons to the Capitol, but Trump dismissed the concern. She also recounted a secondhand account from then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato, who told her Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel of his presidential limousine after a speech on the White House Ellipse, where he encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol.
Trump’s driver, in sworn testimony, later contradicted Hutchinson’s account, stating the president did not attempt to seize control of the vehicle.
Legal and political reactions
The Justice Department has not publicly commented on the grand jury’s decision. Hutchinson’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Political figures have framed the outcome differently. Trump has repeatedly criticized Hutchinson, calling her a “scam artist” who lied under oath and suggesting she should face prosecution. In 2022, he posted on Truth Social, “What is the Justice Department going to do about this?” and later shared a Breitbart article linking House Republicans’ referral of her case to the DOJ.
House Republican allies of Trump previously referred Hutchinson’s case to the Justice Department, according to reports. The Civil Rights Division, led by Trump appointee Harmeet Dhillon, has historically focused on enforcing federal civil rights and anti-discrimination laws.
Grand jury dynamics and broader context
Federal grand juries typically consist of 16 to 23 members and rarely reject indictments when prosecutors present evidence of alleged crimes. The rejection of the Hutchinson indictment follows other recent setbacks for federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., including failed efforts to secure indictments in separate cases involving former FBI Director James Comey and two former FBI officials. In those cases, prosecutors filed criminal charges via court documents rather than grand jury indictments, a method critics argue may be used to avoid statute of limitations concerns.
The grand jury’s decision does not preclude the DOJ from pursuing charges against Hutchinson in the future, though such efforts would require new evidence or a different legal approach.