# D.C. grand jury declines to indict Cassidy Hutchinson over Jan. 6 testimony

Prosecutors sought charges against the former White House aide, according to news reports; the precise allegations and any next step have not been publicly detailed.

By The Signal Edition | Politics / Courts
Published: 2026-10-27T23:30:00.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-27T23:30:00.000Z
Canonical: https://www.thesignaledition.com/article/cassidy-hutchinson-grand-jury-declines-indictment-o5xdp3
Image: https://www.thesignaledition.com/media/7fc0ef478f4665771c64c89e2751bd6e.png (Cassidy Hutchinson testifies at a House January 6 committee hearing on June 28, 2022; file image, not from the October 2026 grand jury proceedings.; credit: U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack / Wikimedia Commons (public domain))

## Summary
- A Washington grand jury declined to return an indictment on Tuesday, according to AP, CBS News and The Washington Post.
- The Post reported that a Justice Department lawyer told a magistrate judge the grand jury had not concurred on a proposed indictment, without naming the subject in court.
- The decision leaves Hutchinson uncharged in this attempt; it is not a trial verdict on the truth of her testimony.

## Grand jury declines the case

A federal grand jury in Washington declined on Tuesday to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide whose testimony before the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack drew national attention. The Associated Press attributed the identification of Hutchinson and the outcome to two people familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss grand jury proceedings. CBS News separately reported the result, citing four people briefed on the proceedings. [1](https://apnews.com/article/cassidy-hutchinson-trump-indictment-65b19759933189cdebb164c5bd80649c) [2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-trump-critic-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/)

The Washington Post reported a narrow piece of the development from a court appearance: Justice Department lawyer Neville S. Hedley told U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui that jurors had not concurred on a proposed indictment. Hedley did not identify the proposed defendant in court, the Post said; two people familiar with the matter identified Hutchinson to the newspaper. The Justice Department had not responded to requests for comment in the accounts available Tuesday evening. [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/10/27/grand-jury-declines-indict-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/) [2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-trump-critic-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/)

## What prosecutors were examining

Republican lawmakers Barry Loudermilk and Jim Jordan referred Hutchinson to the Justice Department this year for possible prosecution, alleging that she gave false testimony, according to the Post. Federal prosecutors had presented evidence to a grand jury earlier in October, CBS News reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. ABC News reported Tuesday that prosecutors sought charges of lying to Congress. AP cautioned that the details of prosecutors’ allegations were not immediately clear; no charging document resulted from the grand jury’s decision. [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/10/27/grand-jury-declines-indict-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/) [4](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-seeking-indictment-cassidy-hutchinson-jan-6/) [1](https://apnews.com/article/cassidy-hutchinson-trump-indictment-65b19759933189cdebb164c5bd80649c) [5](https://abcnews.com/US/doj-fails-indictment-trump-aide-cassidy-hutchinson-jan/story?id=137619918)

## The testimony at issue

Hutchinson worked for then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. In her June 28, 2022, public testimony, she described warnings about potential violence and weapons near the Ellipse rally. She also recounted what she said deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato told her after Trump was driven away from the rally: that Trump angrily demanded to go to the Capitol, reached toward the steering wheel and lunged toward the head of his security detail. The vehicle account was explicitly secondhand in the official House hearing record; Hutchinson did not claim to have ridden in that vehicle. [6](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg49354/html/CHRG-117hhrg49354.htm)

The driver later disputed the steering-wheel and lunge account in sworn testimony, according to the Post, and Trump has denied it. The House hearing record also contains other testimony about Trump wanting to go to the Capitol. The disputed vehicle detail should therefore be distinguished from Hutchinson’s direct observations and from the broader question of his desire to travel there. The public reporting does not establish which exact statements prosecutors put in their proposed indictment. [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/10/27/grand-jury-declines-indict-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/) [6](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg49354/html/CHRG-117hhrg49354.htm) [1](https://apnews.com/article/cassidy-hutchinson-trump-indictment-65b19759933189cdebb164c5bd80649c)

## What the decision means

A grand jury decides whether a proposed indictment may go forward, not whether a witness told the truth at trial. With no indictment returned in this attempt, Hutchinson has not been charged as a result of Tuesday’s presentation. Justice Department policy says a matter declined on its merits should not be resubmitted to the same or another grand jury without approval from the responsible U.S. attorney. Neither the department nor the available reports has announced a further step in Hutchinson’s case. [7](https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-11000-grand-jury) [8](https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/charging) [1](https://apnews.com/article/cassidy-hutchinson-trump-indictment-65b19759933189cdebb164c5bd80649c) [2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-trump-critic-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/)

## Reporting sources
1. [Associated Press: Grand jury refuses to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, AP sources say](https://apnews.com/article/cassidy-hutchinson-trump-indictment-65b19759933189cdebb164c5bd80649c) (October 27, 2026)
2. [CBS News: Grand jury declines to indict Trump critic Cassidy Hutchinson over Jan. 6 testimony](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-trump-critic-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/) (October 27, 2026)
3. [The Washington Post: Grand jury declines to indict Cassidy Hutchinson over Jan. 6 testimony](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/10/27/grand-jury-declines-indict-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/) (October 27, 2026)
4. [CBS News: DOJ trying to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified about Jan. 6](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-seeking-indictment-cassidy-hutchinson-jan-6/) (October 8, 2026)
5. [ABC News: DOJ fails to get indictment against former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson: Sources](https://abcnews.com/US/doj-fails-indictment-trump-aide-cassidy-hutchinson-jan/story?id=137619918) (October 27, 2026)
6. [U.S. Government Publishing Office: Hearing on the January 6th Investigation, June 28, 2022](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg49354/html/CHRG-117hhrg49354.htm) (June 28, 2022)
7. [U.S. Department of Justice: Justice Manual, 9-11.000 — Grand Jury](https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-11000-grand-jury) (Current manual)
8. [U.S. Department of Justice: U.S. Attorneys — Charging](https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/charging) (Current explainer)