A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has begun hearing evidence about whether former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson made false statements to Congress during her testimony about the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Hutchinson, 29, served as a prominent witness for the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot and President Trump's efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. She testified in a nationally televised hearing on June 28, 2022, providing accounts of Trump's actions on January 6. The Justice Department investigation, which began this week under the auspices of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, examines which portions of her congressional testimony may have been false. It remains unclear which specific statements are being scrutinized by the grand jury.
According to sources familiar with the probe, additional evidence could be presented to the grand jury as soon as next week. The proceedings remain in the grand jury phase, and no final decisions have been made about whether the matter will result in criminal charges. Grand jury proceedings do not necessarily result in criminal charges, and the presentation of evidence does not establish that a crime occurred. Hutchinson has not yet received a subpoena to appear, according to reporting on the investigation.
During her June 2022 testimony, Hutchinson recounted an alleged confrontation inside the presidential vehicle involving Trump. She testified that Trump had screamed, "Take me up to the Capitol now!" and lunged at the wheel of his Secret Service-driven vehicle, known as "the Beast." She also testified about Trump wanting supporters to attend a rally at the Ellipse without going through metal detectors, even if armed, and described an incident in which she said Trump threw his plate against a wall in anger over Attorney General Bill Barr's denial of election fraud.
These accounts have been disputed by multiple individuals. White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Anthony Ornato claimed Hutchinson's account of the vehicle incident was false. The agent and driver of the vehicle separately refuted her testimony. Trump's driver, in a transcribed interview with committee members, stated the president "never grabbed the steering wheel" or "lunge[d] to try to get into the front seat at all." Trump denied the plate-throwing incident immediately after her hearing, stating: "Her story of me throwing food is also false … and why would SHE have to clean it up, I hardly knew who she was?"
Former special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump in 2023 and 2024 over claims related to the 2020 election, testified to a House panel that Hutchinson only provided "secondhand hearsay" and would not have been a reliable witness for his purposes. Smith also cast doubt on her claims regarding the magnetometer allegations.
A representative for the Justice Department and Hutchinson's attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
