Liz Cheney fires back after Donald Trump says Jan 6 'committee of political thugs' should 'go to jail'

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney isn’t holding back after President-elect Donald Trump lobbed some serious accusations her way, claiming she and the January 6 committee “deleted and destroyed all evidence” from their investigation into the Capitol riots.

Trump took center stage during his interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, letting loose on Cheney and the congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack.

Donald Trump’s bold accusations

The former president labeled the group a “committee of political thugs” and pointed fingers at Cheney, Rep Bennie G Thompson (committee chair) and others, accusing them of covering up their tracks, the Daily Beast reported.

“Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” Trump declared. “They deleted and destroyed all evidence,” he added.

If that wasn’t enough, Trump upped the ante and called for legal action against Cheney and her fellow committee members. “Cheney was behind it,” he continued, adding “And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee. For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”

But before you think Trump’s gearing up for a revenge tour, he insisted he won’t be instructing his attorney general pick Pam Bondi or FBI director-to-be Kash Patel to go after his political enemies.

“I want her to do what she wants to do. I’m not going to instruct her to do it,” he said of Bondi.

“I’m not looking to go back into the past,” he declared when asked if his justice department would seek to prosecute Biden family members. “I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success,” he added.

Liz Cheney claps back at Donald Trump's remarks

Liz Cheney wasted no time tearing into Donald Trump’s remarks.

“Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power,” Cheney fired back in a statement reported by The New York Times. “He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building, and halted the official counting of electoral votes," she said.

"Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave," she alleged.

Calling it “the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history,” Cheney slammed Trump’s ongoing rhetoric. “Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic,” she said.

The January 6 report was reportedly packed with evidence

The January 6 committee didn’t exactly work in secret. In 2022, they dropped an 845-page report supposedly packed with evidence including transcripts, emails, voicemail messages, and more.

While Trump insists the committee destroyed evidence, Bennie Thompson previously explained that the executive branch reviewed some materials to safeguard sensitive information, including law enforcement details and witness safety.

Cheney wasn’t about to let Trump’s narrative go unchecked, either. “Donald Trump knows his claims about the select committee are ridiculous and false, as has been detailed extensively, including by Chairman Thompson,” she said in her statement.

She also threw in a warning for any legal eagles thinking of taking Trump’s claims seriously.

“There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting—a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee—and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct,” Cheney said.

Donald Trump’s pardons and Kash Patel’s bold ideas

Donald Trump, however, doubled down during the interview. He promised to pardon some of the January 6 rioters on his “first day” in office.

“I’m going to be acting very quickly. First day,” he said, adding that their imprisonment conditions are “filthy” and “disgusting.”

Meanwhile, Kash Patel — Trump’s pick to lead the FBI — has his own agenda, including dismantling the agency and targeting journalists with criminal and civil legal actions.

Patel’s controversial views align with Trump’s disdain for what he’s labeled the “deep state."

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