Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House staffer, will not face charges after a Washington grand jury turned down the Justice Department’s request for an indictment. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed the outcome to the Associated Press. They requested anonymity because they lacked authorization to discuss the case in public.
The former aide had appeared before a House committee in 2022 that examined the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. At the time, she worked as a special assistant to Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff. Republican lawmakers later accused her of giving false testimony under oath during those proceedings.
Prosecutors’ specific claims against Hutchinson remained unclear after the grand jury’s decision. The rejection represents the latest instance in which the Justice Department has been unable to obtain charges against individuals regarded as adversaries of the Republican president.
The former staffer’s testimony focused on Trump’s actions that day
Hutchinson’s appearance came during a hearing that had been announced only 24 hours in advance. She portrayed Trump as angry and defiant on the morning of the attack. In her account, he sought to allow armed protesters to bypass security screenings at a rally held to protest his 2020 election loss. She also stated that he grabbed the steering wheel of the presidential SUV once the Secret Service refused to drive him to the Capitol.
She further testified that Trump did not act when the crowd at the Capitol began chanting “Hang Mike Pence.” Trump rejected much of her description at the time. On Truth Social he labeled her a “total phony” and “bad news.”
Hutchinson has claimed that members of Trump’s inner circle offered job opportunities and financial assistance during the period she cooperated with the committee. She also said her lawyer, who had earlier served as an ethics counsel in the Trump White House, advised her with the words, “The less you remember, the better.”
In 2021, the House of Representatives impeached Trump on the grounds that he incited the mob that stormed the Capitol, though the Senate voted to acquit him. The Justice Department under President Biden later brought felony charges accusing Trump of illegally working to overturn his 2020 election loss ahead of the Capitol attack.
Special counsel Jack Smith dropped the case after Trump’s 2024 victory, citing the longstanding department policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted. Officials who investigated Trump are now facing scrutiny, with a loyalist appointed to lead conspiracy investigation into them.
Hutchinson grew up in Pennington, New Jersey. Before joining the White House, she worked in the office of legislative affairs and completed internships with Republican members of Congress, among them Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
Published: Oct 28, 2026 12:00 pm