A House Republican-led panel called for a federal criminal investigation of former Rep. Liz Cheney on Tuesday, accusing her of potential “criminal witness tampering” with a key witness while serving as vice chair of the now-disbanded House select committee that investigated the 2021 Capitol riot.
Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Cassidy Hutchinson, a first-term White House aide to then-President Donald Trump, communicated through the encrypted Signal app prior to Hutchinson’s explosive and later largely debunked public testimony in June 2022, according to documents previously released by House Republicans, the New York Post reported.
Citing those communications, the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight issued an interim report on Tuesday, urging the Justice Department to investigate Cheney as Trump prepares for his potential return to the White House.
“Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the report from chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) said.
“Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge,” the report continued.
“This secret communication with a witness is improper and likely violates 18 U.S.C. 1512. Such action is outside the due functioning of the legislative process and therefore not protected by the Speech and Debate clause,” he added.
Loudermilk’s report suggested Cheney also was responsible for Hutchinson’s testimony. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation must also investigate Representative Cheney for violating 18 U.S.C. 1622, which prohibits any person from procuring another person to commit perjury,” the report said. ”Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, Hutchinson committed perjury when she lied under oath to the Select Committee.”
Records made public in October by the same committee revealed that Cheney and Hutchinson used the Signal app to exchange messages and arrange calls. The Signal app, which is popular among Washington journalists and politicians, provides end-to-end encryption, making it more difficult for authorities to intercept communications.
The content of the voice calls remains unknown, but one message revealed Hutchinson sharing a screenshot with Cheney of her then-attorney, Stefan Passantino, advising her not to cooperate with the panel investigating Trump’s role in the mob attack by his supporters challenging the 2020 election results.
At the time, Hutchinson was in the midst of six transcribed interviews with the select committee, and her communication with Cheney on June 6, 2022, occurred just before her dramatic public testimony 22 days later.
Much of Hutchinson’s public testimony was later questioned by other witnesses, most notably her claim that Trump, enraged by Secret Service agents refusing to drive him to the Capitol on the day of the attack, “lunged” for the steering wheel.
Photos indicated that Hutchinson incorrectly identified the vehicle involved in the alleged encounter, and the driver later denied the incident occurred.
“Cassidy Hutchinson’s most outrageous claims lacked any evidence, and the Select Committee had knowledge that her claims were false when they publicly promoted her,” Loudermilk said in a press release.
“President Trump did not attack his Secret Service Detail at any time on January 6. President Trump did not have intelligence indicating violence on the morning of January 6. Cassidy Hutchinson falsely claimed to have drafted a handwritten note for President Trump on January 6,” he added.
“Former Representative Liz Cheney should be investigated for potential criminal witness tampering based on the new information about her communication,” he said.
The panel’s recommendation has no inherent weight, and it is uncertain whether Trump’s nominees for the Justice Department will act on it, The Post noted further.
