While Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) opted not to answer directly whether she believes Donald Trump should be prosecuted, the Wyoming Republican pointed to Judge David Carter’s opinion while speaking at the University of Notre Dame on Friday that the ex-president and his former attorney John Eastman likely committed crimes.
The Wyoming Republican, a political scion who was removed from her leadership position in the House due to her criticisms of Trump, and was ousted in her primary by Trump-endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman, added that she believes the Jan. 6 select committee will be in unanimous agreement when the time comes to decide whether to make a criminal referral.
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“Well, the committee has the responsibility to make decisions about criminal referrals, and I, of course, have my own views about that. I don’t want to get ahead of the committee’s discussions on it,” Cheney, the vice chair of the select committee, told the crowd.
“I would point people to Judge Carter’s opinion in which he said that it’s more likely than not that Donald Trump and John Eastman violated at least two federal criminal statutes,” she added. “And so, I, again, I don’t want to get ahead of the committee, but I think you will see the committee’s work in this regard done in a unanimous way. And I think there’s no question about the answer.”
In a 44-page ruling earlier this year, Carter stated that Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election “more likely than not constitute attempts to obstruct an official proceeding.”
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The Jan. 6 select committee voted during its hearing on Thursday to subpoena the former president. It remains unclear whether Trump will cooperate with the panel.
When asked why the committee waited until its final hearing, Cheney cast doubt that it was the panel’s final hearing.
“Well, it’s not necessarily the last day of the hearings. But I think we have felt it’s very important that the investigation be conducted in a way that is rigorous and disciplined and responsible, and that has meant collecting evidence from many, if not all, because, of course, some people took the Fifth or some people refuse to appear — but collecting evidence from all of those around the central figure in Jan. 6, before we issued a subpoena for him,” she said. “And so, that’s what we’ve done.”
