Liz Cheney: Committee notified DOJ that Trump attempted to contact a witness not seen in hearings
“After our last hearing, President Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation, a witness that you haven’t seen in these hearings,” the Wyoming Republican said when concluding the hearing, focusing on the relationship between Trump and extremist groups. storm in the US Capitol. “That person declined to answer or respond to President Trump’s call, and instead informed their attorney about the call. Their attorney informed us. And the committee has been informed of the call. provide that information to the Department of Justice.”
As notable as Cheney’s revelation is, she also raised the possibility that the case might interest Justice Department prosecutors. The comments are the first time the committee has explicitly described providing information to the DOJ that it discovered during the probe.
Attempting to call a witness doesn’t necessarily impersonate a witness on their own, and it’s unclear what the Justice Department will do in response to Cheney’s comments.
Those aren’t from Trump himself, though — and Trump’s personal involvement raises the stakes if the message is intended to influence witness testimony.
Cheney did not disclose its contents.
It remains unclear how the committee communicated the information to the Department of Justice, and whether it could be considered a criminal referral.
A spokesman for the US attorney in Washington, who is overseeing the January 6 criminal investigation, declined to comment.
This story was updated with additional developments on Tuesday.
