Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Monday, calling her a “despicable human being” a day after the congresswoman said in an interview that the Jan. 6 committee may refer the 45th president to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over his role in the Capitol riot.
“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 on Truth Social.
“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?” he added.
In a subsequent post, the former president raged: “Why doesn’t the highly partisan Unselect Committee of political Thugs, the same people (all Trump haters & profiteers – books, speeches, etc.) that were involved with Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax # 2, the ‘No Collusion’ Mueller Report and, overall, the GREATEST WITCH HUNT IN THE HISTORY OF THE USA, go after the people who have been rioting, burning down cities, leading the massive crime wave, & killing many all over the U.S., including drug & human traffickers? No, let’s get ‘Trump’!”
Cheney, one of two Republicans sitting on the House select committee holding hearings on last year’s Capitol riot, said in an interview aired Sunday that Trump still faced the possibility of criminal liability in connection with the unrest.
“Ultimately, the Justice Department will decide that. 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?” Cheney said on ABC News’ “This Week.”
When host Jonathan Karl directly questioned Cheney, the committee’s vice chair, about whether a criminal referral was possible, she responded, “Yes.”
Cheney has become one of Trump’s staunchest critics since she joined 10 House Republicans Jan. 13, 2021, to vote for his impeachment over the storming of the Capitol.
Trump has also backed Harriet Hageman, who is challenging Cheney in next month’s Republican House primary in Wyoming.
A Club for Growth survey shows Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, trailing Hageman by 30 percentage points.
