Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) responded Monday to former President Trump’s recent call for her to be prosecuted for allegedly withholding evidence and testimony from a House committee probe on Jan. 6.
“Lying in all caps does not make it true, Donald.” “You know you and your lawyers have had the evidence for a long time,” Cheney wrote Sunday in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Cheney was publishing a screenshot of Trump’s Sunday post on Truth Social, in which he wrote in all caps, “SHE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR WHAT SHE HAS DONE TO OUR COUNTRY! She illegally destroyed the evidence. UNREAL!!!”
Trump’s words were attached to an article published in The Federalist by former Trump administration aide Kash Patel, who claimed Cheney and the House Jan. 6 committee “suppressed evidence” about the former president’s authorization of National Guard troops during the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021.
In a second post on Sunday, Cheney stated that Trump knew his claims were “lies.”
“You have had all of the grand jury and J6 transcripts for several months. You’re attempting to halt your 1/6 trial because your vice president, White House attorney, White House aides, campaign and DOJ officials, among others, will testify against you. You are terrified of the truth, and you should be.”
Cheney, who served three terms in the House, was vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee and is one of the most vocal Republican critics of the former president. She continually accused Trump of stoking the Capitol rioting.
In the 2022 primary, she lost her position to Trump-backed challenger Rep. Harriet Hagemen (R-Wyo).
The back-and-forth over Jan. 6 evidence comes as House Republicans released a new report on the Capitol incident last week in a bid to undermine Congress’s previous probe and exonerate Trump of any wrongdoing ahead of the November election.
The report, produced by the House Administration Committee’s oversight subcommittee, claims the now-disbanded Jan. 6 select committee participated in a biased investigation to harm the former president.
The report went into depth about how the driver of Trump’s car on Jan. 6 refuted evidence from former White House assistant Cassidy Hutchinson, who had previously said the former president attempted to take control of the car and drive toward the Capitol. She said that others informed her that after his address at the White House, Trump “lunged” for the steering wheel in an apparent attempt to drive to the Capitol.
The unknown driver told House investigators that Trump did not seize the steering wheel and did not see him. lunge in an attempt to get into the front seat at all.” Republicans have capitalized on the disparity.
The former president is charged with four felonies for his efforts to reverse the 2020 election results, including his alleged activities on January 6. The trial in the case — one of four criminal proceedings against Trump — has been postponed while the Supreme Court considers whether the former president’s acts on January 6 fall under presidential immunity.
Trump’s legal team has maintained that he cannot be charged for his acts as president.