DOJ attorney tells judge of 'non-concurrence' in Hutchinson case

The Washington Post, as cited by UPI: a majority need only find probable cause that a crime was committed

UPI reported Tuesday that a Justice Department Civil Rights Division attorney told a judge that a federal grand jury returned a “non-concurrence.” UPI said the term meant the panel had rejected the Justice Department’s request to indict Hutchinson on criminal charges, and that multiple sources confirmed the rejected indictment was against Hutchinson. CNN, The Washington Post and NBC News were among the outlets reporting the story.

The Washington Post, as cited by UPI, reported that it is very rare for grand juries to reject indictments because prosecutors need only convince a majority of jurors that there is probable cause that a crime was committed. UPI’s account of the non-concurrence indicates that a majority of the panel did not find probable cause that a crime was committed.

Hutchinson was a former White House aide who served as an aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during President Donald Trump’s first term. In 2022, she testified before a House committee about Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In that testimony, Hutchinson said Trump urged supporters to march on the Capitol while knowing many of them were armed. She also testified that Anthony Ornato, another White House aide of the time, told her Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent while in a presidential SUV after being told he could not go with the group to march on the Capitol.

“Tony described him as being irate,” Hutchinson testified. “The president said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the [expletive] president, take me up to the Capitol now.’”

Former special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, said in a hearing earlier this year that Hutchinson was not a powerful witness because many of her reports were secondhand.

UPI reported that Trump and his allies had called for Hutchinson to face legal consequences for what they say were false statements. Other lawmakers had called on the Justice Department to abandon the investigation.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said it was a case of “lawfare” by the president, CNN reported.

UPI characterized the Justice Department under President Donald Trump as having tried to prosecute many of those the president considers his “political enemies.” UPI’s examples included former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. UPI reported that Comey faced a third round of charges as of Monday.