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In what appears to be its latest effort to target President Donald Trump's political foes, the US Department of Justice is reportedly seeking criminal charges against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as a star witness in Congress' investigation of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
Punchbowl News reported on Thursday that the DOJ is pursuing federal criminal charges against Hutchinson for allegedly making false statements during her bombshell testimony in June 2022, in which she claimed that Trump attempted to assist the rioters as they tried to violently overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
Hutchinson, who was an aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told Congress she overheard Trump demand the removal of metal detectors at his rally near the White House before the riot, despite knowing that some attendees were armed. She quoted him saying, "They're not here to hurt me."
She also relayed information she claimed to have learned secondhand from others in the Trump White House. She said that Anthony Ornato, the deputy White House chief of staff for operations, told her that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his SUV away from the Secret Service agent driving it so he could join supporters at the Capitol.
Ornato has since said he does not recall recounting this incident to Hutchinson, and the agents in the vehicle have denied that it took place, according to a subsequent investigation by Republicans in the House of Representatives. However, other witnesses have testified more broadly to Trump's anger that he could not join his supporters at the Capitol.
Hutchinson also said Meadows was reluctant to intervene as rioters threatened to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence. She claimed Meadows told her that Trump believed Pence—who'd refused to assist his efforts to overturn the election result—deserved the threats and that the rioters had done nothing wrong.
Trump has since pardoned every one of the more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the Capitol attack, including those who committed violent felonies.
A man climbs down after being photographed with a noose during a protest calling for legislators to overturn the election results in President Donald Trump's favor at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Asked about plans to bring charges against Hutchinson, a DOJ spokesperson said, "The department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations, or the lack thereof."
But the department's pursuit of Hutchinson has been public knowledge since at least April, when The New York Times reported that a criminal investigation into the former White House aide had been opened.
The Times noted that it was highly unusual for such a probe to be undertaken by the Civil Rights Division—which usually handles cases of discrimination—rather than the US attorney for the District of Columbia.
Efforts to prosecute Hutchinson follow attempts by the DOJ to bring charges against the president's other perceived enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of which have been thrown out of court.
In a post on social media, Andrew Fleischman, a Georgia-based trial and appeals lawyer, decried the targeting of Hutchinson as "a chilling and corrupt indictment of a woman who told the truth," but also "yet another opportunity for the Trump DOJ to shit its pants in court."
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In what appears to be its latest effort to target President Donald Trump's political foes, the US Department of Justice is reportedly seeking criminal charges against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as a star witness in Congress' investigation of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
Punchbowl News reported on Thursday that the DOJ is pursuing federal criminal charges against Hutchinson for allegedly making false statements during her bombshell testimony in June 2022, in which she claimed that Trump attempted to assist the rioters as they tried to violently overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
Hutchinson, who was an aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told Congress she overheard Trump demand the removal of metal detectors at his rally near the White House before the riot, despite knowing that some attendees were armed. She quoted him saying, "They're not here to hurt me."
She also relayed information she claimed to have learned secondhand from others in the Trump White House. She said that Anthony Ornato, the deputy White House chief of staff for operations, told her that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his SUV away from the Secret Service agent driving it so he could join supporters at the Capitol.
Ornato has since said he does not recall recounting this incident to Hutchinson, and the agents in the vehicle have denied that it took place, according to a subsequent investigation by Republicans in the House of Representatives. However, other witnesses have testified more broadly to Trump's anger that he could not join his supporters at the Capitol.
Hutchinson also said Meadows was reluctant to intervene as rioters threatened to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence. She claimed Meadows told her that Trump believed Pence—who'd refused to assist his efforts to overturn the election result—deserved the threats and that the rioters had done nothing wrong.
Trump has since pardoned every one of the more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the Capitol attack, including those who committed violent felonies.
A man climbs down after being photographed with a noose during a protest calling for legislators to overturn the election results in President Donald Trump's favor at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Asked about plans to bring charges against Hutchinson, a DOJ spokesperson said, "The department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations, or the lack thereof."
But the department's pursuit of Hutchinson has been public knowledge since at least April, when The New York Times reported that a criminal investigation into the former White House aide had been opened.
The Times noted that it was highly unusual for such a probe to be undertaken by the Civil Rights Division—which usually handles cases of discrimination—rather than the US attorney for the District of Columbia.
Efforts to prosecute Hutchinson follow attempts by the DOJ to bring charges against the president's other perceived enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of which have been thrown out of court.
In a post on social media, Andrew Fleischman, a Georgia-based trial and appeals lawyer, decried the targeting of Hutchinson as "a chilling and corrupt indictment of a woman who told the truth," but also "yet another opportunity for the Trump DOJ to shit its pants in court."
In what appears to be its latest effort to target President Donald Trump's political foes, the US Department of Justice is reportedly seeking criminal charges against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as a star witness in Congress' investigation of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
Punchbowl News reported on Thursday that the DOJ is pursuing federal criminal charges against Hutchinson for allegedly making false statements during her bombshell testimony in June 2022, in which she claimed that Trump attempted to assist the rioters as they tried to violently overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
Hutchinson, who was an aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told Congress she overheard Trump demand the removal of metal detectors at his rally near the White House before the riot, despite knowing that some attendees were armed. She quoted him saying, "They're not here to hurt me."
She also relayed information she claimed to have learned secondhand from others in the Trump White House. She said that Anthony Ornato, the deputy White House chief of staff for operations, told her that Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his SUV away from the Secret Service agent driving it so he could join supporters at the Capitol.
Ornato has since said he does not recall recounting this incident to Hutchinson, and the agents in the vehicle have denied that it took place, according to a subsequent investigation by Republicans in the House of Representatives. However, other witnesses have testified more broadly to Trump's anger that he could not join his supporters at the Capitol.
Hutchinson also said Meadows was reluctant to intervene as rioters threatened to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence. She claimed Meadows told her that Trump believed Pence—who'd refused to assist his efforts to overturn the election result—deserved the threats and that the rioters had done nothing wrong.
Trump has since pardoned every one of the more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the Capitol attack, including those who committed violent felonies.
A man climbs down after being photographed with a noose during a protest calling for legislators to overturn the election results in President Donald Trump's favor at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Asked about plans to bring charges against Hutchinson, a DOJ spokesperson said, "The department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations, or the lack thereof."
But the department's pursuit of Hutchinson has been public knowledge since at least April, when The New York Times reported that a criminal investigation into the former White House aide had been opened.
The Times noted that it was highly unusual for such a probe to be undertaken by the Civil Rights Division—which usually handles cases of discrimination—rather than the US attorney for the District of Columbia.
Efforts to prosecute Hutchinson follow attempts by the DOJ to bring charges against the president's other perceived enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of which have been thrown out of court.
In a post on social media, Andrew Fleischman, a Georgia-based trial and appeals lawyer, decried the targeting of Hutchinson as "a chilling and corrupt indictment of a woman who told the truth," but also "yet another opportunity for the Trump DOJ to shit its pants in court."