It’s clear former President Donald Trump and those around him knowingly broke the law in trying to overturn the 2020 election, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said Sunday.
“They knew it was unlawful, they did it anyway,” Cheney said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I think what we have seen is a massive and well-organized and well-planned effort that used multiple tools to try and overturn an election,” Cheney said.
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol said in March it had enough evidence to make criminal referrals for Trump to the Justice Department for obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
Cheney, one of two Republicans on the committee, said a decision about whether to make criminal referrals for Trump hasn’t been made yet, but she said she’s confident committee members will reach an agreement. She called the Jan. 6 committee “the single most collaborative committee on which I have ever served” and said she’s “proud of the bipartisan way in which we’re operating.”
Cheney is one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for incitement of insurrection, and she’s facing Trump-endorsed Republican Harriet Hageman in Wyoming’s Aug. 16 primary.
Cheney has a formidable war chest for the race, and she’s expected to announce she’s raised $2.94 million in the first quarter of 2022, according to Politico. She has the backing of Republicans, including former President George W. Bush as well as Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who headlined a fundraiser for her in March.
The number of Republicans who voted for impeachment and are running for reelection continues to dwindle after Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., announced this month he wouldn’t seek another term. Upton is the fourth House member to decide against seeking reelection, following Reps. John Katko, of New York, Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, and Anthony Gonzalez, of Ohio.