Liz Cheney fires back at Trump on Jan. 6: 'Lying in all caps doesn't make it true'
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Monday fired back at former President Trump's recent call for her to be prosecuted over allegedly withholding evidence and testimony from the House Jan. 6 committee investigation.
"Lying in all caps doesn’t make it true, Donald. You know you and your lawyers have long had the evidence," Cheney wrote Sunday in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Cheney was reposting a screenshot from Trump's Sunday post on Truth Social, in which he wrote in all caps, "“SHE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR WHAT SHE HAS DONE TO OUR COUNTRY! SHE ILLEGALLY DESTROYED THE EVIDENCE. UNREAL!!!”
Trump's words were attached to an article published in The Federalist by former Trump administration aide Kash Patel, who claimed Cheney and the House Jan. 6 committee "suppressed evidence" about the former president's authorization of National Guard troops during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
In a second post on Sunday, Cheney said Trump new his claims were "lies."
"You have had all the grand jury & J6 transcripts for many months. You’re trying to halt your 1/6 trial because your VP, WH counsel, WH aides, campaign & DOJ officials etc. will testify against you. You’re afraid of the truth and you should be.”
Cheney, who served three terms in the House, served as vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee and is one of the most outspoken GOP critics of the former president. She has repeatedly accused Trump of being responsible for inciting the Capitol riots.
She eventually lost her seat to Trump-backed challenger Rep. Harriet Hagemen (R-Wyo.) in the 2022 primaries.
The back-and-forth over Jan. 6 evidence follows House Republicans' new report on the Capitol attack, released last week in an attempt to discredit Congress's initial investigation and clear Trump of any wrongdoing ahead of November's election.
The report, drafted by the House Administration Committee’s oversight subpanel, alleges the now-disbanded Jan. 6 select committee engaged in a partisan probe intended to hurt the former president.
The report included a detail about how the driver of Trump's car on Jan. 6 disputed testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who previously claimed the former president attempted to take control of the car and go toward the Capitol on Jan. 6 . She testified she was told by others Trump "lunged" for the steering wheel following his speech near the White House in an apparent effort to go towards the Capitol.
The unnamed driver told House investigators, however, that Trump “never grabbed the steering wheel,” and said he “didn’t see him … lunge to try to get into the front seat at all.” Republicans have seized on the discrepancy.
The former president is charged with four felonies over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, including his alleged actions surrounding Jan. 6. The trial in the case — one of four criminal cases against Trump — has been delayed while the Supreme Court weighs if the former president's Jan. 6 actions fall under presidential immunity.
Trump's legal team has argued he cannot be prosecuted for actions while he was president.