Grand jury rejects DOJ bid to indict Cassidy Hutchinson over Jan. 6 testimony

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., rejected a request from the Justice Department to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, The Washington Post reported Tuesday ¹. The case involved her congressional testimony about President Donald Trump's conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol ¹.

MS NOW confirmed the report. It said prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division sought to charge Hutchinson with a crime based on claims that she made false statements, citing two people with knowledge of the case ¹.

What happened in court

Senior Justice Department lawyer Neville Hadley told Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui in open court on Tuesday afternoon that the grand jury had rejected the requested indictment, according to The Post ¹. Hadley did so without naming Hutchinson as the target ¹.

A grand jury is a panel of citizens that decides whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring formal charges. Grand juries rarely turn prosecutors down, which is why a refusal draws attention. This analysis is ours, not a finding from the reports.

From Channel GOPRaskin: over 100 pardoned Jan. 6 rioters reoffendedJamie Raskin · 169 plays · captioned, with the source named

How the case got here

Fox News reported on Oct. 8 that a grand jury in Washington had heard evidence about possible false statements Hutchinson made to the House committee that investigated Jan. 6 ². A source told Fox that no final decisions had been made on whether to file charges ². The source also said more evidence could go to the grand jury as soon as the following week ².

Hutchinson was a top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows ². She became a prominent witness before the House committee ². Fox reported that in a televised hearing in June 2022 she described an account she said she had heard from another White House official about Trump's reaction ².

Fox also reported that her account of an alleged confrontation inside the presidential vehicle was later disputed by other people familiar with the events ². The Fox report said it was unclear which parts of her testimony the grand jury was examining ². It also noted that grand jury proceedings do not necessarily end in criminal charges ².

What is still unknown

The reports we reviewed do not include a statement from the Justice Department or from Hutchinson's lawyer. Fox said neither had responded to its requests for comment when it reported on Oct. 8 ². The Post's account rests on court remarks and anonymous sources, and the wire copy does not say whether prosecutors could try again ¹.

That matters because the Justice Department is led by Republican appointees of a president whose conduct Hutchinson described. A panel of ordinary citizens declined to go along with this request, and that is a fact worth weighing. It is not proof of motive on either side. The pattern is that prosecutors must persuade citizens, not just officials, that a case has merit.

The midterm election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters will decide whether Republicans keep control of the House and Senate, which oversee the Justice Department's budget and conduct.

The Record

1. Jan 6, 2021Mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, the event Hutchinson testified about to a House committee ¹.
2. Oct 8, 2026Fox News reports a D.C. grand jury has heard evidence on possible false statements by Hutchinson, with no charging decision made ².
3. Oct 27, 2026Justice Department lawyer tells a magistrate judge the grand jury rejected the requested indictment, The Washington Post reports ¹.

Sources

1. CNBC, “Grand jury rejects DOJ bid to indict ex-Trump WH aide Cassidy Hutchinson: Reports” (2026-10-27). cnbc.com/2026/10/27/cassidy-hutchinson-doj-grand-jury-trump.
2. Fox News, “Federal grand jury hears evidence in probe of former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson's Jan 6 testimony: source” (2026-10-08). foxnews.com/politics/federal-grand-jury-hears-evidence-probe

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