Liz Cheney Delivers Stern Warning To Trump Family During ABC Interview

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During an ABC interview, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) — vice chair of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot — pushed the possibility of prosecuting Donald Trump, insisting it was something to which the Justice Department ought to be open instead of categorically looking away.

Trump seems to have opened up the possibility of facing prosecution on a wide range of criminal charges with his frenzied attempts to stay in power despite his well-documented loss in the last presidential election. Notably, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson revealed in testimony to the riot panel that then-White House counsel Pat Cipollone was concerned about the possibility of somebody getting prosecuted in connection to Trump’s meddling efforts, specifically in the context of Trump potentially going to the Capitol on January 6 as Congress worked on certifying the election outcome. Cheney’s committee recently subpoenaed Cipollone. Asked if she’s worried about socio-political implications including what would come with the Justice Department in Biden’s administration potentially prosecuting Trump while he’s possibly running for president in 2024 against Joe Biden, Cheney remarked:

‘I have greater concern about what it would mean if people weren’t held accountable for what’s happened here. I think it’s a much graver constitutional threat if a president can engage in these kinds of activities, and the majority of the president’s party looks away, or we as a country decide, “We’re not actually going to take our constitutional obligation seriously.”‘

Asked if what the riot committee has shown reveals Trump “needs to be prosecuted,” Cheney said at a different point in the same interview the final decision would be for the Justice Department to make. She added:

‘I think we may well as a committee have a view on that. 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? It’s very chilling. And I think certainly we will continue to present to the American people what we’ve found.’

Asked specifically whether the riot committee will issue a criminal referral implicating Trump, which wouldn’t force the Justice Department to bring charges but would no doubt come with significant evidence, Cheney indicated such was possible. “The Justice Department doesn’t have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral,” Cheney remarked. “And there could be more than one criminal referral.” In other words, Cheney pointed to the evidence already out there and available to the Justice Department through its particular set of investigative powers. Although she deferred to authorities at the Justice Department on the final decision of whether to prosecute Trump, it sounds clear which direction Cheney is leaning in her personal capacity, even if that comes with some caveats. It seems especially notable members of the riot investigation committee aren’t getting any less convinced of Trump’s culpability as time goes on. The facts don’t lie. Watch Cheney below: