- Donald Trump accused Liz Cheney on Monday of deleting evidence from January 6
- She quickly hit back and shared a link to an online repository of documents
- Trump made his claims while again claiming he had immunity from prosecution
Donald Trump used his social media platform to falsely accuse Liz Cheney of destroying evidence collected by the January 6 congressional investigation, saying she had engaged in “extreme sabotage.”
It's not the first time he's made this claim, suggesting it's all part of denying him the testimony, video footage and documents he needs to defend himself in criminal cases.
Cheney, one of his biggest critics within the Republican Party, quickly hit back, posting a link to online material collected by the investigation.
The former president will go on trial in March in Washington, D.C., as he is accused by special counsel Jack Smith of election interference.
Trump started 2024 with an attack on Cheney, a key figure in the House of Representatives investigation into his attempt to transfer power after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
Former President Donald Trump entered 2024 the same way he exited 2023, railing against critics and accusers seeking to hold him accountable for the Jan. 6 attack on Congress
On Monday evening, Trump accused Liz Cheney, one of his biggest critics within the Republican Party, of destroying evidence he needed to defend himself in court.
'Why did American disaster Liz Cheney, who suffers from TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome), and was defeated for Congress by the largest margin for a sitting congressman or member of Congress in the history of our country, ILLEGALLY REMOVED AND DESTROYED most of the evidence, and related items, from the January 6 Committee of Political Thugs and Misfits,” he posted on Truth Social, using his idiosyncratic use of capital letters.
'THIS ACT OF EXTREME SABOTAGE MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR MY LAWYERS TO PROPERLY PREPARE AND PRESENT A PROPER DEFENSE OF THEIR CLIENT, ME.'
Cheney was one of only two Republicans to join the committee on January 6. She lost her district in Wyoming in 2022 when she lost a primary to a Trump-backed candidate.
But she remains a favorite target of Trump.
She quickly struck back on Tuesday morning.
“Looks like someone is starting 2024 hangry,” she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “@realDonaldTrump – you and your lawyers have had the J6 cmttee material (linked below) plus the grand jury info and much more for months. Lying about the evidence in all caps will not change the facts. A public trial will tell it all.”
She reposted a link to the online evidence catalogue.
Trump made his accusation in a post that also defended his belief that he was entitled to immunity because he was in office at the time of the accusations.
“The ridiculous crazy Jack Smith immunity case, to which I am fully entitled according to the most respected legal minds in the country, is now completely compromised and must be thrown out and ended, JUST AS THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZIES DID TO THE EVIDENCE !' he said.
Liz Cheney was one of only two Republicans to join the House of Representatives investigation on January 6. She remains in Trump's sights, but was able to quickly refute his latest allegations
She repeated an August post linking to an online repository of evidence from Jan. 6
Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeals court on Saturday to reject Trump's claim that he has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.
The most respected legal minds in the country disagree that he is entitled to immunity.
And it comes after an appeals court ruled against a lawsuit brought by a group of U.S. Capitol police officers, saying the former president was not entitled to absolute immunity from civil lawsuits.
On Saturday, Smith asked an appeals court to reject Trump's attempt to overturn a lower court's ruling that he lacked immunity from prosecution on Jan. 6.
“The principles of the separation of powers, the constitutional text, history, and precedent all make clear that a former president can be prosecuted for criminal acts committed while in office — including, most critically here, illegal acts committed to to remain in power despite losing elections. his team wrote.