A federal grand jury in Washington on Tuesday declined to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump White House aide who became the star witness of the House Jan. 6 committee, according to NBC News and CBS News.
The grand jury returned what is known as a “no bill,” meaning it rejected the Justice Department’s effort to indict Hutchinson, NBC News reported, citing a senior U.S. official who confirmed the case was hers. CBS News reported that federal prosecutors were rebuffed, citing four sources briefed on the grand jury proceedings, and said The Washington Post first reported the decision.
BREAKING: A federal grand jury declined to indict Cassidy Hutchinson — the former White House aide turned star witness against President Donald Trump — on criminal charges, a senior U.S. official confirmed to NBC News. https://t.co/EYtL7TRcJI
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 27, 2026
Prosecutors were trying to indict Hutchinson over statements she made about President Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, NBC News reported. The investigation centered on her 2022 testimony before the now-defunct, Democrat-led congressional committee that examined the Capitol riot, a panel Trump railed against for years, according to NBC News.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division had been handling the Hutchinson investigation, CBS News reported.
A no bill announced without a name
Hutchinson’s name was not mentioned in the courtroom when the no bill was announced, NBC News reported. During a hearing on another matter Tuesday, Civil Rights Division litigator Neville Hedley told U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui that the grand jury had not concurred on a proposed indictment, CBS News reported. Hedley did not say who the defendant was, but multiple sources confirmed to CBS News that it was Hutchinson.
Grand juries hear only the prosecution’s side and almost always return the indictments prosecutors ask for, which makes a no bill unusual. NBC News described the outcome as the latest in a string of such denials in cases the Justice Department has brought against people Trump has portrayed as his political enemies.
No comment yet from either side
The Justice Department had not responded to a request for comment, CBS News reported. Attorneys for Hutchinson did not immediately reply to requests for comment, and neither did the department, according to NBC News.
Hutchinson worked in the Trump White House before becoming one of the committee’s most prominent witnesses, and her televised testimony was among the most-discussed moments of the panel’s hearings. For years, Trump and his allies have argued the committee was a one-sided political operation that did not allow Republicans of their choosing to take part.
The grand jury’s decision means prosecutors did not get the charges they sought, at least for now. Neither the Justice Department nor Hutchinson’s legal team had publicly explained what comes next as of the latest reports, and Daily Beltway will follow any new filing or statement from the department.
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- Original post: NBC News (@NBCNews) on X, Oct 27, 2026
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