President-elect Trump on Wednesday cheered a report that slams ex-Rep. Liz Cheney over her work on the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, a sign he may aggressively pursue his plans to seek retribution against political opponents.
In a 3:11 a.m. post on Truth Social, Trump claimed a Republican-led committee report has uncovered damning evidence against Cheney, a onetime GOP rising star who broke with him over the violent attack on Congress.
“Liz Cheney could be in a lot of trouble based on the evidence obtained by the subcommittee,” Trump posted on his social media site in the middle of the night.
Jan 6
J. Scott Applewhite/AP The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearing to reveal the findings of a year-long investigation, on June 9, 2022. Vice Chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming is fourth from right. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The once and soon-to-be-future president, who has repeatedly vowed to target Cheney for retribution, hailed GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) for writing the report.
The panel absolved Trump of any blame for inciting the attack carried out by thousands of his supporters and instead said prosecutors should investigate whether Cheney of acting illegally in her interaction with committee star witness Cassidy Hutchinson.
Cheney hit back at the report earlier, calling it a distraction and a whitewash of Trump’s own misdeeds.
“[The report] intentionally disregards the truth and the … tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did,” Cheney said in a statement.
John Minchillo/AP
Violent protesters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
The report released late Tuesday suggests the GOP will back Trump’s desire to punish his perceived enemies when he returns to the White House.
It rehashes MAGA claims that Trump is not to blame for the attack on the Capitol. The new report’s conclusion instead accuses Cheney of witness tampering for discussing Hutchison’s testimony in advance of her bombshell revelations about Trump’s alleged misdeeds on Jan. 6.
