Liz Cheney is 'more aggressive than even some Democrats in wanting to go directly after Trump': report
According to a Washington Post report on the status of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan 6th insurrection that sent lawmakers fleeing for their lives, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) is represented as the most persistent of all of the committee members when it comes to focusing on the former president.
As the Post's Josh Dawsey and Jacqueline Alemany report, the committee members headed off to a retreat last month to map out strategy and Cheney butted heads with Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) over the direction lawmakers and their investigators should take.
The report states that Murphy would like to take the emphasis off of Trump and dig deeper into the intelligence failures that allowed the Capitol building to be breached, while Cheney wants the actions of the former president -- both before the riot and during it -- to be at the heart of the inquiry.
As Cheney's spokesperson stated, "Rep. Cheney’s view is that security at the Capitol is a critical part of the investigation, but the Capitol didn’t attack itself."
Cheney -- one of two Republicans on the committee along with Rep Adam Kinzinger (IL) who may see her tenure on the committee threatened as she faces a Trump-endorsed challenger for her seat representing conservative Wyoming -- "has proved more aggressive than even some committee Democrats in wanting to go directly after Trump. She has supported subpoenaing members of her own party and aggressively pressuring former Trump aides to cooperate," the Post is reporting.
The report adds, "Cheney’s unsparing and legal-minded approach toward Trump and the attack on the Capitol has distinguished her work on the panel. Colleagues say the lawyer by training is the most well-read and prepared lawmaker on the panel. Of the nine members, she has assumed the most aggressive posture toward the former president."
The report goes on to note that members are still debating how they will conduct the public hearing expected to begin in June -- some of which will reportedly be broadcast in prime time.
“The committee members and staff know the information they have and the challenge is presenting it in the most accessible way. I can’t say whether [the hearings] should be done in prosecutorial style or not but it’s not a prosecution,” explained one congressional investigator who has been working with the committee.
The report goes on to note that Trump is well aware that Cheney wants him to be the center of the probe, telling the Post, "From what people tell me, from what I hear from other congressmen, she’s like a crazed lunatic, she’s worse than anyone else. From what I’ve heard, she’s worse than any Democrat.”
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