Rep. Liz Cheney stated on Sunday that the House Committee panel is considering recommending “increased criminal sanctions” for former President Donald Trump for his activities during last year’s insurgency on the Capitol by his supporters.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Cheney informed presenter Chuck Todd that the conclusions of the probe that the committee will release will contain fresh material regarding the riot that was staged to keep Trump in power.
“Well, I think certainly our first priority is to make recommendations,” Cheney said. “We’re looking at things like do we need additional enhanced criminal penalties for the kind of supreme dereliction of duty that you saw with President Trump when he refused to tell the mob to go home after he had provoked that attack on the Capitol.
“So, there will be legislative recommendations and there certainly will be new information.”
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) stated earlier this month that the panel hoped to complete witness depositions by the beginning of April. According to CBS News, the committee has interviewed nearly 700 witnesses and issued 90 public subpoenas, targeting everyone from Trump’s closest circle to Jan. 6 event organizers and far-right extremists.
The committee will next begin making its findings public, with public hearings scheduled for next month and an interim report due in June before the final report.
The committee announced on March 2 that their evidence proves Trump and his associates engaged in a “criminal conspiracy” to block Congress from certifying the presidential election results, spread disinformation about the election, and encourage state officials to reject the results. Cheney, who was one of the few Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over the insurgency, said she has been concerned about the situation since joining the committee.
“And I can tell you I have not learned a single thing since I’ve been on this committee that has made me less concerned or less worried about the gravity of the situation and the actions that President Trump took and also refused to take while the attack was underway.”
Cheney had recently stated that Trump had demonstrated that he should never be “anywhere near the Oval Office again.”
She added that Trump had the capacity to put an end to the Capitol riot on January 6 but did not, despite repeated requests from his allies and family members.
“I think it’s also important for the American people to understand how dangerous Donald Trump was,” Cheney said in the interview. “We know as he was sitting there in the dining room next to the Oval Office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television to tell people to stop. We know Leader McCarthy was pleading with him to do that. We know members of his family. We know his daughter — we have firsthand testimony — that his daughter Ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence.”
WATCH on #MTP: @RepLizCheney promises Jan. 6 committee will reveal "new information."
"I have not learned a single thing since I have been on this committee that has made me less … worried about the gravity of the situation & the actions that Pres. Trump took." pic.twitter.com/wNq8CURWME
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 20, 2022
Despite Democrat Joe Biden’s victory, Trump’s vows to protest the 2020 election results galvanized rioters. Trump supporters launched a coup and seized the Capitol while members of Congress were gathered inside to certify the results and confirm Biden’s president.
