By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-18 04:16:45 | Updated at 2024-12-18 07:55:56
3 hours ago
Liz Cheney likely broke 'numerous federal laws' and should be investigated by the FBI for witness tampering, a Republican-led report published Tuesday found.
House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., was tasked with investigating the now-disbanded January 6 Select Committee led by Cheney and others when Democrats and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi controlled the House from 2019 - 2023.
'Speaker Pelosi's multimillion-dollar Select Committee was a political weapon with a singular focus to deceive the public into blaming President Trump for the violence on January 6 and to tarnish the legacy of his first Presidency,' the report, authored by MAGA allies, found.
The J6 committee was established in July 2021 to investigate the Capitol riot earlier that year ahead of Congress' attempt to certify the 2020 election results.
The body ran for 18 months before concluding at the end of 2022 ahead of the incoming Republican majority.
In presenting its conclusions, the J6 panel, including former Republican representatives Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, suggested that the Justice Department file charges against Donald Trump for his role in events on January 6.
But Loudermilk - a MAGA ally - is now saying that the process was likely rigged, and that Cheney needs to be investigated.
'Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,' the report said.
Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., listens as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, June 28, 2022. A new GOP report says she could likely be guilty of breaking numerous federal laws during the probe
Protesters gather on the second day of pro-Trump events fueled by President Donald Trump's continued claims of election fraud in an to overturn the results before Congress finalizes them in a joint session of the 117th Congress on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. He long criticized the January 6 Select Committee that was focused on investigating his actions and those of his supporters
Cheney immediately fired back on the report's findings, saying the report 'intentionally disregards the truth' and the tremendous weight of evidence' against Trump.
'January 6th showed Donald Trump for who is really is,' the former Wyoming Republican said. 'He watched television and refused for hours to instruct his supporters to stand down and leave.'
'Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously,' Cheney continued.
Central to Loudermilk's allegations against Cheney are his claims that she improperly worked with Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide.
'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,' it continued.
Hutchinson was at the time of the Capitol riot an aide to Trump's then-chief of staff Mark Meadows. Her testimony was crucial to the J6 committee's biggest findings.
One of her most compelling stories she recounted before the J6 committee was one she was told told about a fit of rage Trump supposedly had after giving a speech at the Ellipse, directly south of the White House near the National Mall, before the riot.
Hutchinson alleged that she heard stories of the Republican becoming 'irate' and trying to grab his driver's steering wheel to rejoin his supporters after leaving his speech.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide in the Trump administration, testified before the J6 panel how she heard from others about the president's anger on January 6. That testimony was used in critical ways by the now-defunct select committee
assidy Hutchinson, a top former aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, testifies during the sixth hearing held by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol on June 28, 2022
Pro-Trump protesters, including Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs, (plaid shirt at bottom center of frame,) gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021
But the Georgia Republican's report finds that Cheney may have improperly contacted Hutchinson beforehand, noting how the former White House aide had a sudden shift in legal representation.
Hutchinson fired her original attorney and hired 'the attorneys Representative Cheney suggested,' the report found.
'Hutchinson sat for her fourth transcribed interview with the Select Committee under unusual circumstances,' it continued.
The report detailed how the former Meadow's staffer's 'fourth transcribed interview, however, was vastly different,' from other sit-downs she had with the J6 panel.
'It consisted of only four people: Representative Cheney, one attorney from the Select Committee, Hutchinson, and Hutchinson's new counsel. Additionally, instead of the Select Committee conducting the interview in a conference room or virtually, Representative Cheney used her private hideaway inside of the United States Capitol Building,' the report says.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) react during a conversation moderated by Charlie Sykes in Brookfield, Wisconsin, U.S., October 21, 2024
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, July 12, 2022
The report continues: 'Hutchinson is mentioned by name in the [J6] Select Committee’s Final Report no fewer than 185 times. Inexplicably, the Select Committee discredited the multitude of legitimate witnesses who, under oath, repeatedly refuted Hutchinson’s testimony. These legitimate witnesses include senior government officials and federal agents.'
The former chairman of the J6 committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a statement that Loudermilk's claims are 'baseless.'
'Representative Loudermilk has failed to discredit the work of the January 6th Select Committee. His so-called 'report' is filled with baseless, conclusory allegations rather than facts,' he said.
'That’s because there’s no escaping the reality that Donald Trump bears the responsibility for the deadly January 6th attack no matter how much Mr. Loudermilk would love to rewrite history for his political purposes.'
