DOJ seeks to indict Cassidy Hutchinson for lying to Jan 6 committee

Justice Department Targets Cassidy Hutchinson for Prosecution

The Trump administration is seeking to prosecute Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who served as a key witness for the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

According to Punchbowl News, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division presented evidence to a federal grand jury on Tuesday and plans to present additional evidence and witnesses in the coming weeks. NBC News confirmed the report. Hutchinson, who worked for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, has not yet received a subpoena from the grand jury.

Republicans have long called for Hutchinson's prosecution. Representative Barry Loudermilk referred her to the DOJ in March, with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan signing off on the referral.

In 2022, Hutchinson testified that President Trump wanted to join his supporters marching on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but aides and Secret Service detail said it was unsafe. She further testified that:

• Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the presidential limousine
• When a Secret Service agent grabbed his arm, Trump grabbed the agent's neck
• Trump wanted his armed supporters to march that day
• Meadows overheard Trump say Vice President Mike Pence "deserves it" in response to chants of "Hang Mike Pence"

The DOJ's Civil Rights Division typically handles discrimination cases, not cases of lying to Congress. The division has reportedly hired questionable candidates to fill vacancies, including lawyers with criminal convictions.

JD Vance Struggles to Define Socialism

Vice President JD Vance was asked to define socialism at a press conference Thursday. Instead of offering a substantive response, the Yale-educated lawyer and author gave what critics described as a simplistic answer tailored for Fox News.

The question came during a press conference announcing that Microsoft and other tech firms would be temporarily suspended from sponsoring H-1B visa workers seeking green cards.

Vance responded: "Oh man.... It's a hard term to define these days because very often socialism … classically, you would think socialism is about prioritizing workers. And yet in reality, most of the self-described socialists running across the United States of America are going to howl about this announcement today, which is prioritizing American workers over foreign workers. So I don't know what the term means anymore."

He added: "I think in reality what it actually means in the American context is that you wanna replace American workers with foreign workers and you want boys to play in girls' sports. That's what unites the socialists that I see running across the United States of America today."

Socialism has multiple definitions and perspectives, including:

• "Sewer socialists" like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who believe Americans should have "whatever they need to live a dignified life"
• Classical definitions advocating for wealth redistribution from elites to the working class
• Various market and non-market models with different economic and social formats

Critics noted that socialism is not defined as "replacing American workers with foreign workers" or "wanting boys to play girls' sports."

Stephen Miller Pushes for Inhumane ICE Detention Facilities

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller wants Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities to be inhumane, according to a government contractor who spoke with NPR News.

The Department of Homeland Security rejected a proposal to construct more humane immigration detention facilities. The contractor pitched building a FEMA-style camp, believing it would be more humane than constructing megaprisons inside warehouses, but the plan was denied.

"No one that we spoke to at DHS was for this idea whatsoever. The deputy director told us point-blank that they had pushed back very hard on it. Everybody knew warehouses are horrible places to put people," the contractor told NPR.

The contractor believed the directive for harsh conditions came from the White House—specifically Stephen Miller, who was not present at the meeting.

"Miller did not want the facilities that were comfortable. He did not want facilities that were humane. We were told point-blank that that was not what the administration wanted," the contractor said.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis called the contractor's comments "false hearsay allegation(s) from someone who has never even met or talked with Stephen Miller," describing them as "defamatory."

Under Miller's leadership, ICE has subjected tens of thousands of people to:

• Overcrowded rooms
• Unsanitary conditions
• Insufficient food and water
• Denied adequate medical care and legal counsel
• Locked in cages

As of this week, 28 people have died in ICE custody in 2026. In 2025, ICE reported 33 detainee deaths, the highest in two decades.

Trump Advisers Face Backlash Over Balkan Ties

MAGA supporters have turned against two of President Trump's closest advisers, Chris LaCivita and James Blair, after revelations that they prioritized assisting a pro-Russia Balkan regime over helping Republicans win the midterms.

"This has opened the floodgates," a person close to the White House told Politico Thursday. "The knives are now fully out for these two."

Trump had appointed both men to oversee his midterm advertising campaign. However, last week—during the Republican blitz—LaCivita and Blair visited Republika Srpska, a small self-governing territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ahead of its regional elections, according to sources who spoke with The New York Times.

Republika Srpska is closely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has made considerable efforts to build ties with Trump and his allies. Blair and LaCivita received hundreds of thousands of dollars through a Washington-based law firm affiliated with the territory's government.

Trump was apparently unaware of their travel plans. In a Truth Social post Wednesday, he distanced himself from the strategists, calling them "outside consultants" who "do not work for me."

Both advisers have held significant positions in Trump's orbit:

• Blair served as Trump's White House deputy chief of staff before running the midterm spending campaign
• LaCivita worked as chief strategist for Trump's primary super PAC, MAGA Inc., and later became COO of the Republican National Committee

Both are connected to chief of staff Susie Wiles, but even she reportedly could not protect them from White House backlash.

"[Trump] has been livid for awhile over how things have been heading, and he hates nothing more than when people make money off him, especially when those people abandon him like this," another person close to the president told Politico.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told Politico: "If your top political advisers are not paying attention to the midterms and instead are paying attention to taking money off the table in a foreign country, that seems to indicate to me that they'..."

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