The DOJ Is Weighing Perjury Charges Against Cassidy Hutchinson

Federal prosecutors have been weighing a perjury and obstruction-of-justice case against Cassidy Hutchinson, who implicated President Donald Trump in the January 6 Capitol riot in testimony four years ago, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

据两位知情人士透露，联邦检察官一直在权衡是否对卡西迪·哈钦森（Cassidy Hutchinson）提起伪证和妨碍司法公正的诉讼。哈钦森曾在四年前的证词中指控唐纳德·特朗普总统参与了1月6日的国会山骚乱。

The efforts mark the Justice Department’s intent to proceed against Hutchinson, a former aide to ex-Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, though prosecutors are not expected to ask a federal grand jury in Washington to return an indictment until at least after the midterm elections, the sources say.

消息人士称，这些举措标志着司法部打算对哈钦森采取行动。哈钦森曾是特朗普政府白宫幕僚长马克·梅多斯（Mark Meadows）的助手。不过，预计检察官至少要等到中期选举之后，才会要求华盛顿的联邦大陪审团提起诉讼。

Hutchinson testified as a star witness to the committee that investigated the riot, recounting that Trump encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol even though he knew many were armed. She sat for several interviews in addition to her public testimony, where she recalled hearing that Trump had lunged at one of his Secret Service agents after being told he could not join his supporters at the Capitol.

哈钦森作为调查骚乱委员会的明星证人出庭作证，她叙述称，特朗普在明知许多支持者携带武器的情况下，仍鼓励他们向国会山进军。除了公开作证外，她还接受了几次采访，在采访中她回忆称，特朗普在被告知无法前往国会山与支持者会合后，曾扑向他的一名特勤局特工。

In recent months, prosecutors at the Justice Department have focused on the fact that the former special counsel, Jack Smith, did not corroborate much of Hutchinson’s account to the committee, and the Secret Service’s denial of any altercation in the presidential limo, the sources say.

消息人士称，近几个月来，司法部的检察官们关注到一个事实，即前特别检察官杰克·史密斯（Jack Smith）并未证实哈钦森向委员会提供的许多陈述，且特勤局也否认总统座驾内曾发生过任何冲突。

By comparing the transcripts of Hutchinson’s interviews with the committee and against her testimony to Smith’s team, prosecutors have been trying to construct a case based on how her testimony has changed, the sources say.

消息人士称，通过对比哈钦森接受委员会采访的记录与她向史密斯团队提供的证词，检察官们一直试图根据她证词的前后变化来构建案件。

Prosecutors have also taken a special interest in Hutchinson’s claim that she had penned a statement on a notecard for Trump to release during the Capitol riot—a claim disputed by former Trump White House counsel Eric Herschmann, who said he had written the note.

检察官还特别关注哈钦森的一项说法，即她曾在一张便条纸上为特朗普起草了一份声明，供其在国会山骚乱期间发布。这一说法遭到了特朗普政府前白宫法律顾问埃里克·赫什曼（Eric Herschmann）的驳斥，他表示那张便条是他写的。

It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors intend to ultimately proceed with both perjury and obstruction charges, which have been under consideration for several months. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

目前尚不清楚检察官是否打算最终同时推进伪证和妨碍司法公正的指控，这些指控已在考虑之中数月。司法部未回应置评请求。

Hutchinson and her lawyer did not respond to texts and calls seeking comment. Hutchinson, now 29, has kept a low profile since publishing a memoir of her time in Trump’s first administration in 2023 titled Enough.

哈钦森及其律师未回复寻求置评的短信和电话。现年29岁的哈钦森自2023年出版了关于她在特朗普第一届政府任职期间的回忆录《足够》（Enough）以来，一直保持低调。

Punchbowl News first reported the Justice Department’s interest in charging Hutchinson.

Punchbowl News 最先报道了司法部有意起诉哈钦森的消息。

The grand jury investigation is the latest example of the Justice Department pursuing criminal cases against Trump’s perceived political enemies. Trump fired former US attorney general Pam Bondi in April partly for moving too slowly to bring such cases, sources familiar with the matter said.

大陪审团的调查是司法部针对特朗普眼中的政治敌人提起刑事诉讼的最新例证。据知情人士透露，特朗普在四月份解雇了前美国司法部长帕姆·邦迪（Pam Bondi），部分原因就是她推进此类案件的速度太慢。

Some Justice officials have been skeptical about whether there is a viable criminal case against Hutchinson, in part due to the high bar for successfully prosecuting perjury charges, the sources say. To prove that Hutchinson lied to Congress, prosecutors would need to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Hutchinson lied, that she did so knowingly, and that it materially impacted the investigation, former US attorney Joyce Vance tells WIRED.

消息人士称，一些司法部官员对针对哈钦森的刑事案件是否可行持怀疑态度，部分原因是成功起诉伪证罪的门槛很高。前美国联邦检察官乔伊斯·万斯（Joyce Vance）告诉《连线》（WIRED）杂志，要证明哈钦森向国会撒谎，检察官需要排除合理怀疑地证明哈钦森确实撒了谎，且她是明知故犯，并对调查产生了实质性影响。

The investigation into Hutchinson became a priority for the DOJ after a criminal referral by Representative Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican who for years has been deeply critical of the January 6 committee investigation. Loudermilk had separately sought to depose Hutchinson until he was blocked by House speaker Mike Johnson, who was concerned it could surface damaging texts of a sexual nature between lawmakers and Hutchinson.

在佐治亚州共和党众议员巴里·劳德米尔克（Barry Loudermilk）提交刑事移交书后，对哈钦森的调查成为了司法部的优先事项。劳德米尔克多年来一直对1月6日委员会的调查持严厉批评态度。劳德米尔克曾单独寻求对哈钦森进行取证，但被众议院议长迈克·约翰逊（Mike Johnson）阻止，约翰逊担心这可能会曝光议员与哈钦森之间具有性意味的破坏性短信。

In an unorthodox move, the referral ended up getting assigned to the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ, as opposed to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia or the Criminal Division, which would usually handle public corruption cases.

在一项非同寻常的举动中，该移交书最终被分配给了司法部的民权司，而不是通常处理公共腐败案件的哥伦比亚特区联邦检察官办公室或刑事司。

Under Justice Department guidelines, the Civil Rights Division is only supposed to take cases with a nexus to a civil rights violation. The division is led by Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump loyalist who has been a reliable advocate for the Trump administration’s prosecutorial agenda.

根据司法部的指导方针，民权司理应只受理与侵犯民权有关的案件。该部门由哈米特·迪隆（Harmeet Dhillon）领导，她是特朗普的忠实拥护者，也是特朗普政府检察议程的可靠倡导者。