President-elect Donald Trump has long suggested he would try to prosecute his political opponents, and House Republicans delivered him a new opening on Tuesday through a report recommending that GOP former Rep. Liz Cheney be prosecuted by the FBI for her role in probing the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Trump, who has said Cheney should go to jail and even amplified posts on social media calling for a televised military tribunal for her, said on Truth Social Wednesday morning that Cheney "could be in a lot of trouble" based on the report released by House GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk. Trump's elevation of the report carries even more weight considering he has chosen loyalist Kash Patel, who has a retribution list of his own, to lead the FBI. In the report, Loudermilk singles out Cheney, a longtime top target of Trump, and claims that she colluded with former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, whose explosive testimony was crucial to the former select committee's investigation. "Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation," the report states. Although Trump told NBC News earlier this month that he won't direct his subordinates to prosecute his political opponents, he likely won't have to, considering those in his closest orbit have echoed his claims that the legal system was weaponized against him and have their own retribution plans. Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for attorney general, said in a TV appearance in August 2023 that the "prosecutors will be prosecuted" and "the investigators will be investigated," while Patel has been fueled by his crusade against the so-called deep state and efforts to defend Trump. Trump's daughter-in-law and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee who could fill a potential US Senate vacancy in Florida, Lara Trump, foreshadowed how Patel, and even Trump's pick to lead the intelligence community, would handle the allegations against Cheney. "These people ought to be ashamed of themselves. I know they aren't, so we'll go ahead and shame them," Trump said. "Wait until Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard get in there." The broader Republican-led investigation into the former select committee and security response to the Capitol attack stems from an expansive party effort to rewrite the narrative of January 6 on behalf of Trump and deep-seated distrust for law enforcement agencies that party leaders claim has been weaponized against conservatives. Loudermilk wrote in the report that "until we hold accountable those responsible, and reform our institutions, we will not fully regain trust." Cheney, who lost reelection to a Trump-backed challenger in 2022 for her role as vice chair of the January 6 committee and voting to impeach Trump for inciting the Capitol riot, fiercely defended her work in a statement on Tuesday, pointing to her committee's work product. "Chairman Loudermilk's 'Interim Report' intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee's tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did," Cheney said. "Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously," she continued. The former chair of the January 6 committee, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said of Loudermilk in a statement to CNN, "His so-called 'report' is filled with baseless, conclusory allegations rather than facts. That's because there's no escaping the reality that Donald Trump bears the responsibility for the deadly January 6th attack no matter how much Mr. Loudermilk would love to rewrite history for his political purposes." With Trump laying the groundwork for political retribution, senior Biden White House aides, administration officials and prominent defense attorneys in Washington, DC, have been discussing potential preemptive pardons or legal aid for people like Cheney who might be targeted for prosecution by the incoming Trump administration. There are also significant protections from federal criminal investigations that exist around members of Congress and the legislative work they do, which would include committee work such as the January 6 House special investigation. Members of Congress have broad immunity under the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution. That prevents federal criminal investigators from even accessing their communications around legislative work in a probe, and also bars that work from ever coming into court. The threat of a criminal investigation looming over Cheney struck a nerve with some Republicans who are struggling with their party's appetite to carry out Trump's vow for revenge. Indiana GOP Rep. Greg Pence, the brother of former Vice President Mike Pence who has said Trump was wrong for claiming that he had the right to overturn the 2020 election, called on his Republican colleagues to move on following the release of the report. "God put our eyes in the front of our head because we should move forward," he said. It's even left some lawmakers concerned about whether they could be the next target. "I don't want him coming after me. I don't think that's fair to Liz Cheney," one GOP lawmaker who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CNN. "I hope he doesn't follow through with that." Congressional Republicans have signaled they may pursue investigations targeting special counsel Jack Smith over his two criminal cases against Trump and special counsel David Weiss over his handling of the tax and gun prosecutions of President Joe Biden's son Hunter. Lawmakers also have put members of the Biden administration on notice that they'll be under scrutiny. But investigating Cheney seems to be another matter. "That will be up to the new Justice Department," House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, who was subpoenaed by the former January 6 committee, told CNN when asked if Cheney should be criminally investigated. Jordan claimed that Trump is against retribution and that "he's into winning and success for the country." Another Judiciary Committee member, Rep. Darrell Issa, outlined that the bar for criminally prosecuting Cheney is different than being politically against her. "I don't have knowledge of Liz Cheney's wrongdoing from a criminal standpoint. I do have her hypocrisy in her political life, and for that I'm disappointed," the California Republican said. "I don't want to confuse the two." "Should we prosecute Liz Cheney? We should investigate if there are credible accusations," he added. — CNN
