DoJ Seeks To Indict Key Jan. 6 Witness For Perjury: Report

Federal prosecutors have presented evidence to a grand jury in Washington, D.C., as the Justice Department investigates whether former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson knowingly gave false testimony to Congress about President Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021. No charges have been announced, and it remains unclear what specific charges prosecutors may pursue.

The investigation puts Hutchinson’s high-profile testimony before the House committee investigating the Capitol riot back under scrutiny, more than four years after the events.

Hutchinson, now 29, was a top aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during Trump’s first administration. In a nationally televised hearing in June 2022, she recounted allegations about Trump’s conduct before and during the riot, including an account that he tried to grab the steering wheel of his presidential vehicle.

Hutchinson did not say she saw the alleged confrontation herself. She testified that Meadows aide Anthony Ornato had told her about it. The Secret Service agent who drove the vehicle later testified that Trump did not grab the steering wheel or lunge toward the front seat. Other witnesses described Trump as angry that he could not go to the Capitol, but the alleged physical confrontation was not independently confirmed. Trump has repeatedly denied Hutchinson’s account.

The conflicting accounts have fueled Republican criticism of the January 6 committee’s investigation. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who has led Republican efforts to review the committee’s work, referred Hutchinson to the Justice Department earlier this year. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) also supported the referral. Republicans have argued that discrepancies in her testimony warrant investigation.

The inquiry reportedly reaches beyond the vehicle account. Prosecutors are examining Hutchinson’s description of a handwritten note prepared for Trump during the Capitol riot. She said she helped write a proposed statement; former White House attorney Eric Herschmann disputed her account and said he wrote the note.

Conflicting testimony alone does not prove perjury. To win a conviction for knowingly giving false testimony, prosecutors would have to meet the applicable legal standard, including proving that the statement was intentionally false and material.

Hutchinson’s testimony also drew scrutiny during former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Reporting on the current probe says Smith’s team did not corroborate several of her most dramatic claims.

The grand jury’s review is a significant step, but it is not an indictment or a finding of guilt. Prosecutors have not publicly announced charges, and any indictment would require the grand jury’s approval.