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Grand jury reportedly declines to indict Cassidy Hutchinson over her Jan. 6 testimony

Prosecutors sought charges over her 2022 House committee testimony about Trump. She stands by it, and the Justice Department could reportedly try again.

16 news outlets reported this
Liberal8 outletsCenter4 outletsConservative4 outlets
Published 4 min read
Overview

A federal in Washington, D.C., declined on Tuesday, Oct. 27, to Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during Donald Trump's first term. Outlets cite anonymous sources or people familiar with the matter. CBS News, Axios and The Hill report that lawyer Neville Hedley told a magistrate judge the grand jury had not concurred.

UPI says a Civil Rights Division attorney did so. CBS and Axios say he did not name the defendant. Prosecutors had sought charges tied to her 2022 testimony to Jan. 6 committee, which Republican lawmakers accused of being false.

She said Trump lunged for the steering wheel of his vehicle when told he could not go to the Capitol, an account she said she heard from someone else. NBC, MS NOW and CBS report that Secret Service officials or the driver disputed it. Hutchinson has said she stands by her testimony.

Outlets describe the outcome as the latest setback for the Justice Department in cases against people Trump sees as political enemies. Several outlets say the Civil Rights Division, led by Harmeet Dhillon, ran the case. Some call that unusual.

NBC notes the decision does not bar the department from trying again.

Three sides of the story

Liberal8 outlets

Left-leaning outlets place the story in a pattern of Justice Department cases against people Trump sees as enemies that have stalled before grand juries. MS NOW and NBC list earlier setbacks, including repeated failed attempts to indict New York Letitia James and the effort involving six Democratic members of over a video. NBC quotes Attorney General Todd Blanche saying in April that grand jurors "don't get everything right," and notes the decision does not bar new charges.

MS NOW calls the Civil Rights Division's role unusual. It says Republicans have for years sought to undermine Hutchinson's credibility, including through a referral from Reps. Barry Loudermilk and Jim Jordan. It also notes she told MS NOW's Lawrence O'Donnell she was voting for Kamala Harris in 2024.

NBC and MS NOW report that Secret Service officials or agents disputed her steering-wheel account. CBS says the driver's sworn testimony contradicted it. NBC adds that Trump has called her a "scam artist."

Center4 outlets

Centrist outlets frame the story around the Justice Department's record. Axios calls the result "another blow" to the department's effort to prosecute people Trump sees as political enemies. It notes that criminal referrals are recommendations and do not necessarily mean wrongdoing.

Citing the New York Times, Axios says the Civil Rights Division, led by "Trump loyalist" Harmeet Dhillon, ran the case instead of the D.C. #x27;s office under Jeanine Pirro, which usually handles lying-to-Congress matters. The Hill reports that Justice Department attorney Neville Hedley told Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui about the grand jury's decision.

The Journal describes the department's prosecutions of people Trump believes wronged him as "troubled" and counts this as one more setback. UPI draws on CNN, the Washington Post and NBC. It quotes Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana calling the case "lawfare" by the president.

UPI also reports that former special counsel Jack Smith said at a hearing this year that Hutchinson was not a powerful witness because many of her reports were secondhand.

Conservative4 outlets

Right-leaning outlets stress that parts of Hutchinson's testimony were disputed. The New York Post carries an Associated Press report saying the Secret Service driver's transcript, released by House Republicans in March 2024, contradicted some of her account and backed other parts. Fox News says the decision does not settle whether her testimony was true, notes she has said she stands by it, and says it is unclear whether prosecutors will try again.

The Washington Examiner says the inquiry began under Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was later replaced by Todd Blanche, described as Trump's lawyer in criminal cases brought by Jack Smith. It calls the Civil Rights Division's role "unique" and says the referral reportedly came from retiring Rep. Barry Loudermilk. Reason argues the rejection fits a pattern of politically motivated cases built on weak evidence.

It quotes Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., voicing concern in August about "weaponization" of the Justice Department.

All sources: 17 articles from 16 outlets

Liberal (9)

Center (4)

Conservative (4)

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