OAN Staff James Meyers
10:55 AM – Wednesday, December 18, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump says that former GOP Representative Liz Cheney could face harsh consequences after a House panel called for her to be investigated by the FBI for possible witness tampering whilst on a Democrat-led committee investigating the January 6th, 2021, protest.
“Liz Cheney could be in a lot of trouble based on the evidence obtained by the subcommittee, which states that ‘numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, and these violations should be investigated by the FBI,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Wednesday.
His comments came just hours after the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee, led by Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), issued an interim report on Tuesday calling for the Justice Department to investigate Cheney’s actions before Trump is set to take back the White House.
Cheney had purportedly exchanged calls and text messages with Cassidy Hutchinson, a first-term White House aide to then-president Trump, using the encrypted app “Signal” just weeks before her June 2022 testimony. However, the majority of the “incriminating” information that Cheney claimed to have learned was later proven false, House republicans have previously highlighted.
Nevertheless, it’s still up in the air regarding whether Trump’s nominees to lead the Justice Department will act on the committee’s recommendation.
“Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge,” the report from Chairman Loudermilk said.
The former Wyoming rep’s communications with Hutchinson were illegal and were “outside the due functioning of the legislative process and therefore not protected by the Speech and Debate clause,” Loudermilk argued.
Additionally, Hutchinson testified publicly, claiming that she was told Trump was so enraged when Secret Service agents refused to drive him to the U.S. Capitol on the day of the protest that he allegedly “lunged” for the steering wheel.
However, those claims were proven false by photographs from the day, which showed that Hutchinson had misidentified the vehicle where the alleged encounter took place. The driver later confirmed that Hutchinson’s testimony was false.
Whether her testimony was purposely invented or simply a misunderstanding is still being debated.
Meanwhile, Cheney remarked on the matter on Tuesday afternoon, accusing Loudermilk of “lies and defamatory allegations.” She is also reportedly on President Joe Biden’s list of people to preemptively pardon before he leaves the White House.
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