DoJ seeks to charge ex-Trump aide who gave key testimony on January 6 attack

Federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges against Cassidy Hutchinson, a onetime senior aide in Donald Trump's White House, according to a person familiar with the matter. The possible charges concern lying to Congress. Hutchinson worked under chief of staff Mark Meadows and gave dramatic testimony to the House committee that examined the attack on the Capitol. Punchbowl News first reported the effort on Thursday, and a Justice Department spokesperson said the department neither confirms nor denies investigations, according to The Guardian.

Hutchinson told the committee that she was informed Trump refused to go back to the White House on January 6 and at one point reached for the steering wheel of his SUV so he could join supporters at the Capitol. Republicans have disputed that account for a long time.

The New York Times reported in April that attorneys from the department's civil rights division had been assigned to look into Hutchinson, an unusual arrangement, since the U. S. attorney for the District of Columbia would normally take such a case. Hutchinson has also stated, in filings in an unrelated case, that she is under investigation.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →