A House subcommittee has called for a federal criminal investigation of former Rep. Liz Cheney for possible “criminal witness tampering” during her time as vice chair of the Select Committee that investigated J6.
In a report released on Tuesday, the House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight charged that Cheney communicated with the Select Committee's start witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, via the encrypted Signal app before Hutchinson's largely debunked public testimony in June 2022.
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"Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge. This secret communication with a witness is improper and likely violates 18 U.S.C. 1512. Such action is outside the due functioning of the legislative process and therefore not protected by the Speech and Debate clause," said the report by the subcommittee, which is chaired by Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation must also investigate Representative Cheney for violating 18 U.S.C. 1622, which prohibits any person from procuring another person to commit perjury. Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, Hutchinson committed perjury when she lied under oath to the Select Committee. Additionally, Hutchinson was interviewed by the FBI as part of its investigation into President Trump. This Subcommittee sought a copy of the FBI report 302, documenting this interview and Hutchinson’s statements, but the FBI has refused to produce this vital document. The FBI must immediately review the testimony given by Hutchinson in this interview to determine if she also lied in her FBI interview, and, if so, the role former Representative Cheney played in instigating Hutchinson to radically change her testimony," the report said.
"Now we know why they deleted their communications," Human Events editor Jack Posobiec noted.
In a report released in March of this year, Loudermilk's subcommittee found that the Select Committee had "deleted records and hid evidence. Reps. (Bennie) Thompson and Cheney failed to turn over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions despite using these recordings in their high-profile, prime time hearings. The Subcommittee recovered over one hundred deleted or password-protected files, including some files that were deleted days before Republicans took the majority. They also hid multiple transcribed interviews of witnesses who had firsthand knowledge of Trump‘s actions on January 6."
Hutchinson's testimony to the Select Committee was called false by other witnesses. Most notably was her claim that she was told that then-President Donald Trump was so enraged when Secret Service agents refused to take his motorcade to the Capitol on J6 that he “lunged” for the steering wheel.
“Cassidy Hutchinson’s most outrageous claims lacked any evidence, and the Select Committee had knowledge that her claims were false when they publicly promoted her,” Loudermilk said in a press release.
“President Trump did not attack his Secret Service Detail at any time on January 6. President Trump did not have intelligence indicating violence on the morning of January 6. Cassidy Hutchinson falsely claimed to have drafted a handwritten note for President Trump on January 6,” he wrote. “Former Representative Liz Cheney should be investigated for potential criminal witness tampering based on the new information about her communication.”
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In a Dec. 15 press release, the House Committee on Administration noted that Loudermilk's subcommittee had obtained never-before-seen correspondence from 2022 between Cheney and Hutchinson while Hutchinson was still a subject of the Select Committee’s investigation.
In the months prior to Hutchinson's testimony, which the Select Committee chose to broadcast to the public turning prime time, Cheney communicated with Hutchinson, both directly and through an intermediary — Alyssa Farah Griffin — while Hutchinson was represented by her attorney, Stefan Passantino. The Select Committee on J6 conducted six transcribed interviews of Hutchinson in total. Passantino represented Hutchinson for the first three interviews.
The Dec. 15 press release noted: "It is apparent that Cheney knowingly communicated with Hutchinson — without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge—and by doing so finally revealed the flawed process and alleged findings of the Select Committee. Cheney had an ethical responsibility to only communicate with Hutchinson with her attorney present. However, Hutchinson’s sensational testimony was essential to the Select Committee’s inquisition of President Trump. Thus, Cheney apparently defied her ethical responsibilities and communicated directly with Hutchinson behind Passantino’s back, encouraged her to fire Passantino, and even assisted Hutchinson in obtaining new representation."
A Cheney spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
In a recent interview with NBC's "Meet the Press", Trump said he felt members of the Select Committee should go to jail.
It would be left to Trump's top incoming Department of Justice officials to carry out the criminal investigation. Trump has nominated Pam Bondi for attorney general and Kash Patel for director of the FBI.
Some, including Vermont socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, have suggested Joe Biden grant preemptive pardons for Cheney and other individuals involved in the lawfare campaign against Trump.
🚨 This is a pretty HUGE Scandal…
Liz Cheney was just Busted Secrety Communicating with ‘Start J6 Witness’ Cassidy Hutchinson Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Donald Trump chocked his Secret Service Driver on January 6. Guess who questioned her? Liz Cheney… Did Liz Cheney… https://t.co/dl1dBGllfM pic.twitter.com/vEepVuBbQ9 — MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) October 16, 2024
If Liz Cheney did indeed destroy 117 files related to the January 6 committee, she should be arrested.
That is highly illegal. — Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) December 10, 2024
Liz Cheney called me a “nutball conspiracy theorist” for asking questions about FBI’s involvement on January 6th
The DOJ Inspector General’s report confirmed that I had good reasons to ask these questions, which Christopher Wray repeatedly dodged https://t.co/IQC10Saf1z — Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 15, 2024
