While Donald Trump may no longer be the president, it was clear on Thursday night that Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice chair of the House select committee investigating January 6, was speaking to that same audience of one.
“Doors have opened,” Cheney said. “New subpoenas have been issued and the dam has begun to break.”
The message to Trump was simple: We’re coming for you.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether a) the January 6 committee will make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice about Trump, or b) the Department of Justice decides to criminally charge Trump (or anyone else) in connection with the riot at the US Capitol.
While that is, quite clearly, an open question, Cheney seemed intent on ratcheting up the pressure on Trump (and his innermost circle) as the hearings are set to take a hiatus while the committee continues to gather evidence and talk to witnesses.
We’ve seen this tactic from Cheney work before. Following a committee hearing in late June, Cheney publicly urged former White House counsel Pat Cipollone to come forward and testify on the record.
“Any concerns he has about the institutional interests of his prior office are outweighed by the need for his testimony,”
she tweeted at the time.
Less than two weeks later, Cipollone testified in a closed-door meeting with the committee. His video testimony has been used extensively by the committee in its two most recent hearings.
Cheney used that same bully pulpit to get Trump’s attention on Thursday night. And again, it worked.
“Liz Cheney is a sanctimonious loser,” the former President posted on his Truth Social site. “The Great State of Wyoming is wise to her.” (That was one of more than 10 posts by Trump last night.)
Cheney’s hope here is that Trump, feeling the pressure of the committee’s ongoing investigation, slips up in some way that further exposes him — either criminally or otherwise.
We already know, thanks to CNN reporting, that Trump tried to call a member of the White House support staff who was talking to the January 6 committee. According to CNN, the staffer was in a position to corroborate part of what Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, had testified before the committee. The staffer did not answer the call and instead alerted their lawyer.
We also know that Trump is getting antsy to declare his 2024 presidential candidacy as the drip-drip-drip of the committee’s findings take their toll, and as other would-be Republican contenders — namely Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — move up in polling.
The more cornered Trump feels, the more likely he is to make a mistake. That’s what Cheney is banking on.
Source link
