The Civil Rights Division is running the case instead of the DC U.S. Attorney's Office, an unusual choice that CBS says has not been explained.
The case. Justice Department prosecutors are presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington, D.C. (a panel of citizens that decides whether there is enough evidence to bring charges). The question is whether Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, lied to the House Jan. 6 committee in June 2022. A DOJ spokesperson said the department "does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations, or the lack thereof."
The testimony. CBS reports it is unclear which of her answers prosecutors are examining. Her best-known claim, that Trump lunged at the steering wheel of his SUV on Jan. 6, 2021, was secondhand, and other witnesses have disputed it.
What next. Prosecutors plan to bring more evidence and witnesses before the grand jury later in October 2026, Punchbowl News reported.
How three witnesses' accounts cut against the steering-wheel story
- The SUV driver told the committee in a Nov. 7, 2022 interview that Trump never grabbed the wheel and never lunged into the front seat.
- Ornato said in his Nov. 29, 2022 interview that he first heard the story from her public testimony and did not believe he had told it to her.
- Robert Engel, head of Trump's Secret Service detail, did not recall Trump reaching for him or being in the room when Ornato spoke to Hutchinson.