Justice Department fails to charge former White House aide for testimony on Trump and Jan. 6, sources say

Justice Department prosecutors tried unsuccessfully Tuesday to secure a grand jury indictment of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson for her testimony about President Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Hutchison was a key witness to the House Select Committee that investigated the events of January 6, 2021. His explosive 2022 testimony implicated the president in the violence at the time, claiming Trump knew about the potential for violence on January 6, but still chose to move forward with his speech directing them to the Capitol building.

Hutchinson’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

The long-running case has become a point of controversy between lawmakers and Justice Department employees, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Some within the department felt there was not enough evidence to bring a viable criminal case against her and feared it would be seen as a problematic way to target another perceived Trump enemy.

Lawmakers on the other side have also called on the department to drop their investigation, including Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who called the matter an act of “legal warfare” led by the president.

Hutchinson, a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told the committee that Trump became angry upon hearing that day that his supporters had been seen with weapons, including guns and knives, and had been arrested at security checkpoints. Hutchinson said he heard Trump say something similar: “I don’t care if they have guns. They’re not here to hurt me. Take the damn magazines away. Let my people in.”

She also detailed what she heard about Trump’s efforts to force his motorcade to head to the Capitol — an account that was disputed by others who were with the president that day.

Former special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated the Jan. 6 attack, told members of Congress in a closed-door interview earlier this year that Hutchinson was not a powerful witness in the investigation, in part because many of his stories were second-hand.

Hutchinson also claimed that Tony Ornato, then White House deputy chief of staff, told him that Trump lunged at a member of the Secret Service when he was told he couldn’t go to the Capitol after his speech that day.

Ornato and others have denied this account.

This story is developing and will be updated.