Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson has acknowledged that she is the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice, DOJ, criminal investigation, according to a federal court filing.
The disclosure came in a September 24 court order quashing a BBC subpoena seeking to question Hutchinson under oath as part of President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster.
Hutchinson told the court she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if compelled to testify.
The court filing does not specify what the DOJ investigation concerns. However, The New York Times reported in April that the department was investigating Hutchinson over her testimony before the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
According to the Times, the investigation began after a Trump ally in Congress accused Hutchinson of lying during her testimony. Hutchinson’s account drew strong criticism from Trump and his allies.
Hutchinson, who served as an aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during Trump’s first term, became a prominent witness before the House January 6 committee in June 2022.
During her testimony, Hutchinson described Trump as unconcerned after being told that some of his supporters at the Capitol were armed. She said Trump responded that they were “not here to hurt me.”
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She also recounted an incident in which Trump allegedly attempted to grab the steering wheel of his presidential limousine after his Secret Service detail refused to take him to the Capitol. The account was later disputed by testimony from the driver.
The DOJ investigation comes as the Trump administration pursues cases involving several individuals and officials viewed by Trump and his allies as political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz quashed the BBC’s subpoena seeking Hutchinson’s deposition in the September 24 order, describing her as “presently the subject of a criminal investigation” by the DOJ.
Kuntz cited the investigation among Hutchinson’s reasons for opposing the deposition, along with the more than 30 hours of sworn testimony she had already provided to Congress.
Hutchinson’s attorneys also argued that the BBC was seeking information beyond the narrow issues at the centre of Trump’s defamation lawsuit. Trump’s attorneys had previously made a similar argument in the case. Kuntz agreed, warning that the BBC should not “turn the discovery in this lawsuit into a fishing expedition.”
The judge said Hutchinson’s previous testimony was already available and appeared “largely irrelevant to the narrow issue in this lawsuit,” which concerns the editing of two statements Trump made more than 55 minutes apart in a BBC documentary.
The BBC argued that Hutchinson’s testimony could provide insight into Trump’s mindset and that of his senior advisers on January 6 as the broadcaster defends itself against Trump’s claim that the documentary falsely portrayed him as encouraging the Capitol riot.
Kuntz, however, left open the possibility that the BBC could seek to subpoena Hutchinson again if circumstances change. He said any renewed request would have to explain “in great detail” what had changed since the ruling.
News Week
