Liz Cheney

2022 - 7 - 12

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

Liz Cheney: Committee informed DOJ that Trump attempted to ... (CNN)

Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice chairwoman of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, said at the panel's hearing Tuesday that ...

And this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice." Previously, the committee noted two incidents where their star witness, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, received messages about being loyal to Trump. As notable as Cheney's revelation is, she also raised the possibility that the incident could prompt interest from Justice Department prosecutors.

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Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

Liz Cheney Says Trump Reached Out to a Jan. 6 Witness (The New York Times)

The congresswoman from Wyoming had raised the prospect at the previous hearing that former President Donald J. Trump and his allies were interfering with a ...

In one phone call, according to the account provided by the committee at the time, the witness was told that Mr. Trump was paying attention to the hearings and reading the transcripts. At the end of the public hearing with Ms. Hutchinson, Ms. Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, raised the prospect that Mr. Trump and his allies were tampering with a witness — later revealed to be Ms. Hutchinson — and shared messages sent to her by people close to Mr. Trump. And this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice. Let me say one more time, we will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously.” Ms. Cheney’s remarks came in the closing moments of Tuesday’s hearing and two weeks after the previous hearing, when a former White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, testified that Mr. Trump was aware that some members of the crowd on Jan. 6 were armed, that he wanted to lead his supporters to the Capitol anyway, and that White House officials had expressed concerns that Mr. Trump’s plan for Jan. 6 could be unlawful. “Their lawyer alerted us. Representative Liz Cheney said on Tuesday the House Jan. 6 committee had been told that former President Donald J. Trump had reached out in the last two weeks to a witness in the panel’s investigation, and that the committee had informed the Justice Department of the approach.

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Image courtesy of "al.com"

Rep. Liz Cheney: Trump tried to contact Jan. 6 hearing witness, DOJ ... (al.com)

We will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously,” Cheney said.

Nevertheless, Trump summoned his supporters to Washington and then sent them to the Capitol in what panel Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., has called an “attempted coup.” At the witness table to testify in person was Jason Van Tatenhove, an ally of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes. Another witness was Stephen Ayres, who pleaded guilty last month to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building. Federal authorities have explicitly linked at least 38 rioters to the pro-Trump conspiracy theory, according to an Associated Press review of court records. The Oath Keepers have denied there was any plan to storm the Capitol. “You guys are not tough enough,” Giuliani in video testimony recalled the president telling the White House attorneys. It divulged examples last week of other times witnesses have received outreach from Trump allies, some suggesting he was aware they were talking to the committee, ahead of testimony before the panel. The hearing Tuesday was the seventh for the Jan. 6 committee. “Bring handcuffs.” It all culminated with the attack on the Capitol, the committee says. Raskin said the panel planned to use “a lot” of Cipollone’s testimony. “Be there. Instead the person alerted their lawyer who contacted the committee.

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Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

'He is not an impressionable child': Cheney lays marker on Trump ... (The Washington Post)

If there's one member of the Jan. 6 committee most focused on guiding the Justice Department to charge former president Donald Trump, it's Rep.

Cheney laid down a marker, asserting that the committee won’t settle for that, even if it could conceivably be used to prove Trump broke the law. And I believed at that point that the means for him to pursue litigation was probably closed.” The committee has shared lots of evidence that he had been told this, and it would play new evidence to that effect Tuesday. Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) has said, “I think we can prove to any reasonable, open-minded person that Donald Trump absolutely knew.” In sum, Cheney dismissed the idea floated by some legal experts that perhaps Trump could be guilty by virtue of his “willful blindness” to the fact that he had lost. Crucially, it also suggests that Meadows, who very much assisted in Trump’s crusade, knew better and was telling people (based on what, it’s unclear) that reason would ultimately prevail. For instance, going with that standard would mean Trump’s defense team could fight back by arguing that he actually believed the bogus voter fraud theories he espoused. Courts including the Supreme Court have established that when it comes to crimes like the one the Jan. 6 committee is focused on — obstruction of an official proceeding — proving that someone chose to remain “willfully blind” to the facts can be used to prove culpability. And then Jared [Kushner] said, you know, ‘Yeah, we’re working on this.’ ” And Donald Trump cannot escape responsibility by being willfully blind.” He is not an impressionable child.” This, of course, is nonsense.

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Image courtesy of "Axios"

Liz Cheney says Trump attempted to reach out to Jan. 6 witness (Axios)

Why it matters: Cheney says the committee has referred the matter to the Department of Justice, which has the power to prosecute the former president if it ...

Former Trump administration aides and officials testified to the Jan. 6 select committee that they and others in former President Trump's orbit accepted the result of the election between late November and mid-December of 2020. The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on Tuesday will zero in on the far-right militant groups that breached the Capitol that day — and former President Trump and his allies' ties to those groups. Their lawyer alerted us."

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Image courtesy of "Daily Beast"

Donald Trump Tried to Contact Jan. 6 Witness, Liz Cheney Reveals ... (Daily Beast)

Former President Donald Trump tried to call a witness set to appear before the House Jan. 6 Committee, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) revealed in a bombshell ...

The surprise revelation came at the end of the nearly three-hour hearing in which the committee detailed the far-right operation that took Trump’s words as a call to action to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6. The committee showed a tweet that was drafted—but never sent—telling them to do so after his speech on the Ellipse. In the six-hour meeting, which went past midnight, Trump loyalists Sidney Powell, Mike Flynn and Rudy Giuliani insisted there was fraud and floated bonkers ideas for overturning the election, like appointing Powell a special counsel. “And how we remain in serious danger.” Trump allegedly called the witness, whose identity has not been revealed, following the committee’s last hearing on June 28, said Cheney, who serves as the committee’s vice chair. The witness didn’t answer Trump’s call, instead referring it to their lawyer, who referred it to the committee.

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Image courtesy of "NPR"

Trump tried to call a Jan. 6 committee witness, Cheney says (NPR)

Panel Vice Chair Liz Cheney said the witness has yet to appear in the hearings and didn't take the call from the former president but alerted their lawyer, ...

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Image courtesy of "Salon"

"This is huge": Legal experts react to Liz Cheney's Jan. 6 bombshell ... (Salon)

Cheney again used her closing statement to suggest Trump is witness tampering.

"So, Trump tried to call a witness," former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance noted. We just learned that President Trump may have attempted a 3rd." Trump commuted his 40 month sentence before leaving office." Their lawyer alerted us and this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice." "That person declined to answer or respond to President Trump's call and, instead, alerted their lawyer to the call. Former White House ethics czar Norm Eisen wrote, "We already knew of multiple apparent incidents of witness intimidation.

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

Liz Cheney just made an absolutely critical point about Donald ... (CNN)

In her opening remarks at Tuesday's January 6 committee hearing, Rep. Liz Cheney had a blunt message: Donald Trump doesn't get to play the unwitting dupe ...

I'm the only one that matters, because when it comes to it, that's what the policy is going to be. As Cheney said, the argument goes something like Trump "couldn't tell right from wrong." "President Trump is a 76-year-old man," Cheney said at one point.

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Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

Liz Cheney Says Trump Reached Out to a Jan. 6 Witness (The New York Times)

The congresswoman from Wyoming had raised the prospect at the previous hearing that former President Donald J. Trump and his allies were interfering with a ...

In one phone call, according to the account provided by the committee at the time, the witness was told that Mr. Trump was paying attention to the hearings and reading the transcripts. A spokesman for Mr. Trump said on Twitter that Ms. Cheney was trafficking in “innuendo and lies,” but did not directly address whether Mr. Trump had tried to reach out to a witness. At the end of the public hearing with Ms. Hutchinson, Ms. Cheney raised the prospect that Mr. Trump and his allies were tampering with a witness — later revealed to be Ms. Hutchinson — and shared messages sent to her by people close to Mr. Trump. And this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice. Let me say one more time, we will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously.” “Their lawyer alerted us. Representative Liz Cheney said on Tuesday that the House Jan. 6 committee had been told that former President Donald J. Trump reached out in the last two weeks to a witness in the panel’s investigation, and that the committee had informed the Justice Department of the approach.

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Image courtesy of "Seattle Medium"

Liz Cheney: Committee Informed DOJ That Trump Attempted To ... (Seattle Medium)

Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice chairwoman of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection, said at the panel's hearing Tuesday that ...

And this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice.” Previously, the committee noted two incidents where their star witness, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, received messages about being loyal to Trump. As notable as Cheney’s revelation is, she also raised the possibility that the incident could prompt interest from Justice Department prosecutors.

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Image courtesy of "PEOPLE.com"

Liz Cheney Says Donald Trump Allegedly Tried to Call Unnamed ... (PEOPLE.com)

The witness didn't answer the former president's call — but the Jan. 6 Committee told the Department of Justice about it, Cheney said during Tuesday's ...

"And they have reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts and just keep that in mind as I proceed through my depositions and interviews with the committee." "I'll leave it to the Department of Justice to decide where to take it from there. And that's the message that I think the Vice Chair of the committee wanted to put out." He wants me to let you know that he's thinking about you," reads another. The point is that the Committee takes really seriously the ability of witnesses to come in — like Cassidy Hutchinson — and tell us everything they know without fear of reprisal or coercion and so on," Raskin said. "[A person] let me know you have your deposition tomorrow.

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Image courtesy of "The Seattle Times"

Witness tampering at Jan. 6 hearing? Cheney raises prospect (The Seattle Times)

In a Jan. 6 committee hearing already sprinkled with notable moments, Rep. Liz Cheney saved perhaps the most startling one for last.

“And transferring the money doesn’t establish any of those requirements, so there’d have to be some additional proof that those things have happened.” That includes a $50,000 payment to a law firm where one of Steve Bannon’s lawyers is a partner. That contribution was made in July 2021, months before Meadows had halted his cooperation with the committee. He knows you’re loyal and you’re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition.” In one, a witness said they were told that “as long as I continue to be a team player, they know I’m on the right team. Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, also faced charges that he sought to influence witness testimony. And it was not the first time the committee has raised the possibility of witness tampering. The principal statute governing witness tampering applies to federal proceedings, whether congressional, executive or judicial. Bannon is facing trial next week on charges of defying the 1/6 committee’s subpoena. I’m protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in good graces in Trump World.” The witness apparently recognized the caller ID, and did not answer the phone, instead contacting a lawyer, who then told the committee. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation documented instances in which Trump or his associates made contact with people they feared could harm them.

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