Grand Jury Doesn't Indict Jan. 6 Witness Hutchinson
Is this a failure to hold Hutchinson accountable or a derailment for political payback?
Story
Above:Â Cassidy Hutchinson in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Dec. 5, 2023Â Image credit:Â Araya Doheny/Getty Images
The Facts
- A federal grand jury in Washington on Tuesday rejected the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ) request to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson over the account she gave lawmakers of President Donald Trump's actions during the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots.
- Senior Justice Department lawyer Neville Hedley told Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on Tuesday that a grand jury could not agree on an indictment. He did not name Hutchinson in open court, but multiple sources told news outlets the case involved her.
- The DOJ's Civil Rights Division, headed by Trump appointee Harmeet Dhillon, presented the case over statements Hutchinson made to Congress in 2022. The division typically focuses on matters such as police violence and election integrity.
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The Spin
Republican narrative
Hutchinson's sworn testimony that changed in terms of extravagance over time deserves scrutiny, not applause. Every official named in her SUV tale refuted the account, and an alleged phone call described under oath never happened. Too bad a grand jury from the liberal bastion of D.C. was never going to hold a favored witness accountable. A change of venue matters.
Democratic narrative
This was a blatant attempt at political payback by the Trump administration. Handing a perjury case to the Civil Rights Division, which has no jurisdiction over lying to Congress, always smelled like a political errand. Grand juries almost always indict, so flopping at that stage shows just how flimsy this case was.
