Justice Department prosecutors on Tuesday tried and failed to secure a grand jury indictment of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson over her testimony about President Donald Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Hutchison was a key witness for the special House committee that investigated the events of January 6, 2021. Her explosive 2022 testimony implicated the president in the violence of the day, saying that Trump was aware of the potential for violence on January 6, but still chose to move ahead with his speech directing them to the Capitol building.
Attorneys for Hutchinson didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The long-running case has become a point of controversy between lawmakers and employees of the Justice Department, sources familiar with the matter have told CNN. Some inside the department believed that there was not enough evidence to bring a viable criminal case against her, and worried that it would be seen as a problematic way to target another of Trump’s perceived enemies.
Exclusive: GOP lawmakers push for charges against former White House aide for Jan. 6 testimony
Lawmakers across the aisle have also called on the department to abandon their investigation, including Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who called the matter an act of “lawfare” directed by the president.
Hutchinson, a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told the committee that Trump grew angry upon hearing supporters that day were seen with weapons including guns and knives and had been stopped at security check points. Hutchinson said she heard Trump say something similar to, “I don’t effing care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away. Let my people in.”
She also detailed what she heard were Trump’s efforts to force his motorcade toward the Capitol — an account that has been disputed by others who were with the president that day.
Former special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated the January 6 attack, told members of Congress in a closed-door interview earlier this year that Hutchinson wasn’t a powerful witness in the investigation, in part because many of her stories were secondhand.
Hutchinson also claimed then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato told her Trump lunged at a Secret Service member when he was told he couldn’t go to the Capitol following his speech that day.
Ornato and others have denied this account.
This story is developing and will be updated.
