GOP Panel Calls for Criminal Probe of Liz Cheney Over Jan. 6 Role

Facts

• US Republicans from the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight released a 128-page report calling for a criminal probe into former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and her role on the Jan. 6 select committee.^[1][2]
• The report, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), accuses Cheney of witness tampering by communicating with former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified that Trump lunged for the steering wheel of his Secret Service vehicle on Jan. 6 to join supporters at the Capitol.^[3][4]
• Republicans claim Cheney secretly communicated with Hutchinson via the Signal app and encouraged her to swap her then-lawyer out for more "Select Committee-friendly attorneys to represent her."^[4][5]
• The Jan. 6 committee interviewed over 1K witnesses and obtained more than 35K documents before releasing its final report, which was then used by special counsel Jack Smith to indict Trump on Jan. 6-related charges.^[6]
• Cheney defended the select committee's work as having included testimony from numerous Republican witnesses, including senior Trump administration officials. She called the GOP report a "malicious and cowardly assault on the truth."^[1]
• However, the Republicans' report alleges the Jan. 6 committee failed to archive approximately 900 interview summaries and "more than one terabyte of digital data."^[3]

Sources: ^[1]The New York Times, ^[2]The Hill, ^[3]FOX News, ^[4]Newser, ^[5]New York Post and ^[6]Newsweek.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post. Liz Cheney's actions, especially her secret coaching of Hutchinson without her lawyer's knowledge, are a clear breach of investigative ethics and are potentially illegal. Such covert and partisan behavior undermines the integrity of congressional inquiries, turning them into political vendettas rather than pursuits of truth. Politics aside, her use of encrypted communication to influence sworn testimony suggests possible witness tampering — a blatant criminal action.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by The New Republic. Republicans are seeking political revenge, not justice. This report, coupled with Trump's social media threat early this morning, suggests a coordinated partisan motive rather than genuine legal concern. Cheney's Jan. 6 Committee work was thorough, involving numerous GOP witnesses and leading to a detailed 800-page report. Accusations against her are baseless and politically motivated, aimed at discrediting her for opposing Trump, not for actual wrongdoing.