Liz Cheney facing GOP calls for FBI investigation over alleged ‘witness tampering’ in Jan 6 investigation
Former Rep. Liz Cheney is facing calls from GOP legislators that the FBI investigate her for “potential criminal witness tampering” related to her former role on the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, a report released Tuesday by the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., details.
The report alleges that Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge. The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The committee’s investigation concluded last year, with referrals sent to the Justice Department recommending criminal prosecution for Trump.
The House Republican report specifically took issue with Cheney’s alleged “direct intervention” with Hutchinson, the star witness of the investigation. It claims that Cheney encouraged Hutchinson to hire “Select Committee-friendly attorneys to represent her” instead of keeping her original legal representation. Hutchinson, who worked as an aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, had claimed that Trump allegedly tried to join supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The report found that Cheney’s actions during Hutchinson’s fourth transcribed interview with the Select Committee were unusual, with only four people present, including Cheney and Hutchinson’s new counsel. The report argues that Hutchinson’s testimony was crucial to the committee’s findings about Trump’s alleged involvement in the events of Jan. 6.
Cheney defended the committee’s investigation, stating that the allegations made in the report were false and malicious. She argued that the committee’s work was based on thorough evidence and that the report was an attempt to cover up the truth about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6. The Democratic former chair of the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, also criticized Loudermilk’s report, calling it baseless and filled with allegations rather than facts.
President-Elect Donald Trump has also weighed in on the controversy, claiming that Cheney, Thompson, and others on the committee “deleted and destroyed” evidence related to the investigation and should go to jail. Trump’s claims were supported by a previous report released by Loudermilk earlier this year, alleging that the committee “deleted” records and hired “Hollywood producers” to promote a political narrative.
The report released Tuesday found that the Jan. 6 committee failed to archive as many as 900 interview summaries or transcripts and did not provide passwords for encrypted, password-protected documents. The report raises concerns about the committee’s handling of evidence and data related to its investigation.
Overall, the allegations against Cheney and the scrutiny of the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation highlight the ongoing controversy surrounding the events of Jan. 6 and the political fallout from the breach of the U.S. Capitol. The calls for an FBI investigation and the criticism of the committee’s actions underscore the deep divisions within Congress and the broader political landscape in the aftermath of Jan. 6.
