A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has rejected a Department of Justice request to indict former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on charges of lying to Congress regarding her testimony about the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Justice Department had sought charges related to false statements made before the House Select Committee. This refusal to indict is described as rare, though federal prosecutors in Washington have recently pursued criminal cases against former officials like James Comey through criminal informations rather than grand jury indictments, citing statute of limitations concerns. Hutchinson testified that former White House official Tony Ornato told her that then-President Trump was irate when told he could not go to the Capitol on January 6th, believing he was headed there from the rally. She recounted Ornato stating Trump said something along the lines of, “I’m the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now.” The grand jury’s decision comes as prosecutors have faced challenges obtaining indictments they sought since January 2025, and follows a pattern of using criminal informations in cases involving alleged conduct from years prior.
Senior DOJ lawyer Neville Hedley stated in court that the grand jury rejected the requested indictment without naming Hutchinson as the target. Comey’s lawyers argue the DOJ used a criminal information to avoid the 10-year statute of limitations for retaining or sharing national defense information, and have asked a judge to dismiss the case.
Our reading is that the grand jury’s decision not to indict Hutchinson, while unusual, fits a pattern established by the Department of Justice in other cases involving former officials. The use of criminal informations instead of grand jury indictments suggests a strategic approach to navigate statute of limitations issues, even if those tactics are being legally challenged. The fact that the grand jury specifically rejected the indictment request, as stated by a DOJ lawyer, indicates a deliberate assessment of the evidence presented.
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