Former Republican Representative Liz Cheney says Americans should hear from witnesses with direct knowledge of Donald Trump's mindset surrounding the events of January 6, 2021.
The former president and current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination has fumed following a federal appeals court ruling on Tuesday that he is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes committed while he was in the White House.
Cheney, who represented Wyoming prior to being voted out of office in favor of Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman in 2022, has been one of Trump's biggest critics. She was one of just 10 House Republicans to impeach Trump for incitement of insurrection in the days following the Capitol riot, and along with former Representative Adam Kinzinger was one of two Republicans on the January 6 Committee investigating the lead-up to that day's events and the aftermath.
"Donald Trump knows what his own WH staff, DOJ appointees, campaign officials, etc told the 1/6 grand jury," Cheney said Thursday on X, formerly Twitter. "Trump is trying to delay the trial to prevent those witnesses from testifying in open court. Americans have a right to hear from those witnesses now."
Newsweek reached out to Cheney's the Great Task PAC for comment via email.
Trump's actions related to January 6, as part of a federal election interference case brought by the Department of Justice under the leadership of Special Counsel Jack Smith, will be examined as part of a criminal trial in which he faces four counts—including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. He has denied all of the charges and pleaded not guilty.
Although out of office, Cheney hasn't been shy in her criticism towards the ex-president, or those who continue to support him.
Last month, she used Republican Representative Elise Stefanik's own words against her.
Stefanik, who replaced Cheney as House Republican Conference chair, wrote the following post on X, but later deleted it: "I fully condemn the dangerous violence and destruction that occurred today at the United States Capitol," Stefanik wrote, calling the violence that day "absolutely unacceptable and anti-American."
On Monday, Cheney scrutinized Republican Senator J.D. Vance for comments he made during an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
"The Constitution says that the Supreme Court can make rulings, but if the Supreme Court—and look, I hoped that they would not do this—but if the Supreme Court said the president of the United States can't fire a general, that would be an illegitimate ruling," Vance said. "And the president has to have Article 2 prerogative under the Constitution to actually run the military as he sees fit."
Cheney said Vance's remarks indicated to her that the senator believes that Trump can defy Supreme Court rulings through his role as president, and unlike former Vice President Mike Pence would have "helped Trump illegally seize power."
"That's tyranny," Cheney said. "Neither Trump nor Vance is fit to serve."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
