Former President Donald Trump responded to news that the Jan. 6 Select Committee could make a criminal referral to the Justice Department by calling out Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for her part in the proceedings.
Trump spoke out on his social media platform, Truth Social, saying that Cheney is out of favor with her constituency, personally offensive, and also out of step with fellow committee members in her assertions.
“Warmongering and despicable human being Liz Cheney, who is hated by the great people of Wyoming (down 35!), keeps saying, over and over again, that HER Fake Unselect Committee may recommend CRIMINAL CHARGES against a President of the United States who got more votes than any sitting President in history,” Trump said in his post.
Trump continued writing, “Even the Dems didn’t know what she was talking about! Why doesn’t she press charges instead against those that cheated on the Election, or those that didn’t properly protect the Capitol?…..”
Trump’s frustration with Cheney stemmed from comments made by the lawmaker on Sunday during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
The Wyoming Republican said that following the testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, the committee is faced with a decision of whether to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.
“I think we may well as a committee have a view on that, and if you just think about it from the perspective of what kind of man knows that a mob is armed and sends the mob to attack the Capitol and further incites that mob when his own vice president is under threat, when the Congress is under threat,” Cheney said, according to CBS News.
She added, “It’s just — it’s very chilling, and I think certainly we will, you know, continue to present to the American people what we found.”
The lawmaker was questioned as to whether the committee was considering any criminal referrals against Trump specifically, to which Cheney responded, “Yes.”
However, Cheney’s comments are a contradiction to what committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters last month. Thompson said at the time that the committee “does not have authority” to refer criminal charges for Trump, according to CBS.
Cheney appeared to respond to news of Thompson’s comments at the time.
The January 6th Select Committee has not issued a conclusion regarding potential criminal referrals. We will announce a decision on that at an appropriate time.
— Rep. Liz Cheney (@RepLizCheney) June 14, 2022
She said the committee “has not issued a conclusion regarding potential criminal referrals. We will announce a decision on that at an appropriate time.”