Rep. Liz Cheney is convinced that former President Donald Trump engaged in unlawful conduct.
Cheney, one of two Republicans on the committee investigating the Capitol riot, made the assertion on Sunday, even as she conceded that the panel’s members have not agreed whether to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.
“I think it is absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing, what a number of people around him were doing, that they knew it was unlawful. They did it anyway,” Cheney told Jake Tapper during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union.
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“It is absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing … was unlawful.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) responds to a New York Times report saying the Jan. 6 committee has evidence to make a criminal referral for former President Trump to the Justice Department. #CNNSOTU @CNNSotu pic.twitter.com/Aftprmjmd4
— CNN (@CNN) April 10, 2022
Cheney, who hails from Wyoming, made the comments after a judge said last month in a Jan. 6-related case that Trump “more likely than not” broke the law when he “corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”
There have been hundreds of people charged in connection to the Capitol riot, but so far, the Justice Department has not embarked on any prosecutions against Trump or those in his inner circle. But congressional investigators are looking at links between the violence and efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election results. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and cast the Jan. 6 panel’s work as being a political witch hunt.
On Friday, a member of the Proud Boys, Charles Donohoe, became the group’s first national leader to plead guilty to conspiracy charges related to the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
Cheney mentioned Trump’s Dec. 19, 2020, tweet, which announced a “big protest on January 6th” before encouraging attendees to “be there” and saying it “will be wild!”
The leaders of the Jan. 6 committee have grown divided over the need to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department, according to the New York Times. Although members believe they have enough evidence to file a referral, some Democrats are questioning whether it is even necessary or if doing so would add too much political heat should Trump decide to run for reelection in 2024.
Cheney dismissed the notion of there being any conflict or dispute.
“The committee is working in a really collaborative way to discuss these issues, as we are with all of the issues we’re addressing. And we will continue to work together to do so. So, I wouldn’t characterize there as being a dispute on the committee,” she said.
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Several Trump allies have been asked to appear before the committee, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump impeachment lawyer Eric Herschmann. While some have cooperated, including Ivanka Trump, others have resisted or pushed back through legal action or maintaining a tight-lipped approach during meetings.
Cheney said Ivanka Trump’s testimony was “helpful.”
