Former President Trump continues to demand that former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) be prosecuted for allegedly withholding testimony and details from the Jan. 6 committee's investigation into his actions during the Capitol insurrection.
Trump shared a piece from former Trump administration aide Kash Patel on Truth Social on Sunday. It was published in The Federalist last week. Patel claimed that Cheney and the House Jan. 6 committee "suppressed evidence" about the former president's authorization of National Guard troops during the Capitol insurrection in 2021.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that "SHE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR WHAT SHE HAS DONE TO OUR COUNTRY! SHE ILLEGALLY DESTROYED THE EVIDENCE. UNREAL!!!" while linking to Patel's piece.
Cheney responded to Trump's calls for her to be jailed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, stating, "Hi Donald: you know these are lies. You have had all the grand jury & J6 transcripts for many months. You’re trying to halt your 1/6 trial because your VP, WH counsel, WH aides, campaign & DOJ officials etc. will testify against you. You’re afraid of the truth and you should be."
Cheney served as vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee and emerged as one of the most outspoken GOP critics of the former president, repeatedly blaming Trump for allegedly inciting the riot.
Cheney lost her seat in the House after three terms to Trump-backed challenger Rep. Harriet Hageman during the 2022 primaries in Wyoming, where Trump maintained wide support with voters.
The exchange comes nearly a week after House Republicans released a new report in an attempt to discredit Congress's initial investigation into the Capitol insurrection and clear Trump of any wrongdoing as he pursues reelection.
The report, drafted by the House Administration Committee’s oversight subpanel, accuses the now-disbanded Jan. 6 select committee of embarking on a partisan witch hunt to harm the former president.
The report also included a detail about how the driver of Trump's car on Jan. 6 disputed testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who previously claimed Trump tried to take control of the car and go toward the Capitol.
The unnamed The driver informed the committeethat Trump “never grabbed the steering wheel,” and he said he “didn’t see him … lunge to try to get into the front seat at all.”
Republicans have seized on the driver’s testimony and how the committee did not release it earlier as further evidence to argue that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 should be exonerated.
A transcript of the driver’s testimony, as reviewed by The New York Timesindicated the driver supported Hutchinson’s claims about Trump’s desire to join supporters at the Capitol.
Trump currently has four serious criminal charges for his supposed attempts to reverse the 2020 election results, but the legal process has been postponed while the Supreme Court considers whether the ex-president’s actions on Jan. 6 are protected by presidential immunity. Trump argues he can't be taken to court because he was working as president at the time.
