Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the vice chairwoman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, suggested Wednesday that former President Trump could be held responsible for any falsehoods exchanged with the panel.
“President Trump continues to make the same false claims about a stolen election with which he has misled millions of Americans. These are the same claims he knows provoked violence in the past. He has recently suggested that he wants to debate members of this committee,” Cheney said.
“This committee's investigation into the violent assault on our Capitol on Jan. 6 is not a game. When this committee convenes hearings, witnesses will be called to testify under oath. Any communications Mr. Trump has with this committee will be under oath. And if he persists in lying, then he will be accountable under the laws of this great nation and subject to criminal penalties for every false word he speaks.”
Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) previously said “no one is off limits” when asked if the committee may eventually subpoena Trump.
Cheney’s comments came at a business meeting where the panel forwarded its second referral for criminal contempt to the full House, in this case for Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who was central to Trump’s efforts to pressure the department to act on his baseless claims of voter fraud.
[INSERT: The Jan. 6 Committee Is Promising It Has the Goods. We’re About to Find Out [...] Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist who reportedly helped plan the rally at the Ellipse, and Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official whom the committee on Wednesday night recommended be charged with contempt for defying his subpoena, have also indicated they’d be open to testifying publicly. The committee probably won’t be interested, though. Public testimony makes it easier for witnesses to coordinate their stories, which would make it more difficult for the committee to piece together what actually happened on Jan. 6, rather than what a bunch of Trump allies want people to think happened. P - Signaling a willingness to testify publicly makes it seem like a witness want to comply, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t effectively obeying Trump’s directive to stonewall the committee. Trump has done so himself through his likely doomed effort to prevent the committee from getting ahold of White House documents from the National Archives. Bannon did so extremely publicly in refusing to show up for his deposition and was subsequently charged with criminal contempt. Mark Meadows has agreed to cooperate, reaching an agreement with the committee this week .. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/us/politics/capitol-riot-investigation-meadows.html .. after first refusing to comply. It’s unclear to what extent Stephen Miller, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, and other high-profile Trump allies will play ball, but it wouldn’t be surprising if many of them follow Trump and do what they can to stick it to the committee. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=167012800]
If Trump, like Clark, failed to appear before the committee following a subpoena, a contempt report would detail all the exchanges between him and his attorneys and committee staff. If he appeared, he could face charges if he lied to congressional investigators. It’s the same charge his confidant Roger Stone, now also subpoenaed by the committee, faced before being pardoned by Trump.
Trump's offer to debate the commission reminds of his original stated willingness to be interviewed by Mueller. Smoke and mirrors from the latest greatest danger to American democracy.
And the latest is Meadows is NOT cooperating with the Jan. 6 commission any more.
See also:
January 6 Committee Anticipates 'Multiple Weeks' Of Hearing Next Year
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