CNN
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After completing their own investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, House Republicans are questioning what happened when then-President Donald Trump sent his supporters to help Congress certify the 2020 election. The investigation into what happened led to the conclusion that former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney should be prosecuted. .
The findings released Tuesday show Republicans want to punish Trump for their perceived enemies, including Cheney and other members of the Jan. 6 committee who argued the president-elect should be jailed. It shows they are working to strengthen Trump’s aspirations.
“Evidence obtained by the subcommittee indicates that Liz Cheney may be in significant trouble, and that evidence indicates that “a number of federal laws may have been violated by Liz Cheney.” Thank you to Congressman Barry Loudermilk for a job well done.” Newsmax, by Greg Kelly, “These violations should be investigated by the FBI.” I mentioned it in a post.
In a social media post at 3 a.m. ET, President Trump suggested that Cheney could face legal consequences based on evidence collected by a Republican subcommittee.
“Unless we hold those responsible accountable and reform the system, we will never fully restore trust,” House Administration Committee Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) wrote.
January 6th: Former committee chairman responds to remarks that Trump should go to jail
The Republican committee’s 128-page interim report is the latest update on President Trump’s efforts to prepare for his return to the White House and staff the government with top-level officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel. They appear to be like-minded in their efforts to retaliate. . President Trump also vowed to pardon those convicted of involvement in the Capitol riot.
It revisits the Republican Party’s long-standing claim that President Trump was not responsible for the attack on the Capitol. The Justice Department has indicted about 1,500 people, including leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys extremist groups, and indicted Trump on four criminal charges, including conspiracy to overturn the presidential election. Special Counsel Jack Smith later abandoned the case against Trump before the inauguration, following Justice Department guidelines that prevent sitting presidents from being indicted.
But the new report’s conclusion is that Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and the rising conservative star who was once ousted from Republican leadership after voting to impeach Trump for inciting insurrection, He is naming Mr. Cheney, who became vice chair of the committee on January 6, lost her own reelection bid in 2022 to a Trump-backed challenger in Wyoming. This fall, Ms. Cheney campaigned for Vice President Kamala and worked to prevent Mr. Trump from returning to the White House. Harris.
In photo: Embattled Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Cheney on Tuesday provided a detailed defense of the committee’s painstaking 900-page Jan. 6 report, released in December 2022, saying Loudermilk’s own report “ignored the truth. ” he said.
“January 6th showed Donald Trump for who he really is. He watched on TV and continued his violent attack on the Capitol and law enforcement officers, telling his supporters to get up and leave. A brutal, vindictive man who refused for hours to do anything.” Cheney said. said in a statement.
“Now Chairman Loudermilk’s ‘interim report’ deliberately ignores the truth and the task force’s vast evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory claims aimed at covering up Donald Trump’s conduct. ”
‘Jack Smith is on my list’: Rep. Clyburn on who Biden should pre-emptively pardon
President Joe Biden is considering issuing pardons to protect members of Congress from President Trump’s wrath. But several officials have said they have not asked or want a pardon from Biden.
Among the people Trump wants to prosecute are former Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Cheney and other members of the Jan. 6 committee, and Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who prosecuted Trump. Also included.
The report’s release comes as Congress is expected to certify the 2024 election results in the coming weeks. But unlike four years ago, when Republicans refused to recognize Biden’s victory over Trump and claimed voter fraud, Democrats say they trust and accept the election results.
The Republican committee’s findings revisit multiple security lapses that occurred on January 6, 2021, reigniting controversy over the delay in deploying the National Guard, and adding police reinforcements to the Capitol by nightfall. recovered. Congress resumed work that night and worked until the next morning to certify Biden’s 2020 election.
“This report makes clear that there was no single cause for the events that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6,” Loudermilk wrote in the foreword. “The Capitol is still not safe today.”
However, Loudermilk was involved in the Jan. 6 committee that then-Speaker Pelosi subsequently set up to investigate what happened, and its leaders, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi) and Cheney. is equally passionately focused on
The report singled out Cheney for her role in working with one of the leading witnesses against Trump, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, and providing the most detailed account of the defeated president’s actions that day. are listed as targets for prosecution.
Hutchinson testified at a committee hearing on January 6, 2022, that he was not proactive during his first meeting with the committee, that he had “moral conflicts” and wanted to return.
She ultimately ditched pro-Trump lawyers and later held extensive hearings and briefed Trump at the White House as the Capitol riot unfolded.
Mr. Cheney, in his own account of the committee’s work in his book Oath and Honor, said his meeting with Ms. Cassidy was extremely important and that he feared for her safety should she decide to come forward. .
The Loudermilk panel concluded that these acts amounted to witness tampering and were grounds for prosecution.
“Many federal laws may have been broken by Liz Cheney,” the commission said in its conclusion. “These violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
It also said Thompson violated House rules regarding his handling of files and records.
Mr Thompson said the report was full of “baseless” claims. “No matter how much Mr. Loudermilk wants to rewrite history, he cannot escape the reality that Donald Trump is responsible for the deadly attack on January 6th,” he said.
In an interview earlier this month, Trump revived his campaign promise to go after those who accused him of January 6th.
“Honestly, they should go to jail,” he said, referring to the lawmakers who investigated the Capitol attack.
