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The DOJ Is Weighing Perjury Charges Against Cassidy Hutchinson
WIRED • • nation
Key Points:
- Federal prosecutors are considering perjury and obstruction-of-justice charges against Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mark Meadows, based on discrepancies in her January 6 Capitol riot testimony implicating former President Donald Trump.
- The Justice Department is unlikely to seek an indictment before the midterm elections, as prosecutors scrutinize inconsistencies between Hutchinson's committee testimony and interviews with special counsel Jack Smith’s team.
- Prosecutors are particularly focused on Hutchinson's claim that she wrote a note for Trump to release during the riot, which is disputed by former White House counsel Eric Herschmann.
- The investigation gained momentum after a criminal referral from Republican Representative Barry Loudermilk and is unusually assigned to the DOJ Civil Rights Division, led by Trump loyalist Harmeet Dhillon, rather than the usual public corruption units.
- Some Justice officials remain skeptical about the viability of a perjury case due to the high legal standard required to prove intentional lying that materially affected the investigation.
