Federal prosecutors have been rebuffed in their efforts to obtain an indictment against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson for her testimony related to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to four sources briefed on the grand jury proceedings.
The Justice Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The Washington Post first reported that the grand jury declined to indict Hutchinson.
Hutchinson, who was a top aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, angered President Trump’s allies and his base when she testified in 2022 before the House Select Committee investigating the 2021 Capitol attack.
In his depositions and congressional testimony, Hutchinson said Mr. Trump and Meadows were warned on Jan. 6 that some of his supporters were carrying weapons at the Capitol, but Mr. Trump said he didn’t care — and he tried to order officials to remove the magnetometers at the rally where he spoke that morning.
She also relayed a story she said was told to her by Tony Ornato, then deputy White House chief of staff, in which Mr. Trump became furious after his top Secret Service agent failed to drive him to the Capitol after the president’s speech to his supporters. During that speech on the White House timeskip, he encouraged them to head to the Capitol, where Congress was confirming the Electoral College results from the 2020 election. He told his supporters that “after this, we’re going to come down and I’ll be there with you.”
Hutchinson testified that Ornato told him that in the car, Mr. Trump threw himself at the steering wheel. His account was later contradicted by Mr. Trump’s driver, who in sworn testimony claimed that the president never attempted to grab the steering wheel.
CBS News could not determine precisely what parts of Hutchinson’s testimony were being reviewed by prosecutors. According to media reports, the president’s Republican allies in the House of Representatives have contacted the Department of Justice.
The Civil Rights Division handled the investigation into Hutchinson, sources said.
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