Trump tried to call a Jan. 6 committee witness, Cheney says

Former President Donald Trump attempted to call a witness in the Jan. 6 investigation following the last hearing on June 28 with former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, House Jan. 6 committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney said in her closing statement Tuesday.

Cheney said the witness has yet to appear in the hearings and didn’t take the call but alerted their lawyer, who told the Democratic-led committee. Cheney said the committee passed along the information to the Justice Department.

“We will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously,” she said.

Taylor Budowich, a spokesman for Trump, blasted the committee and the media in response to Cheney’s charge of witness tampering, though he didn’t address the substance of it directly.

Cheney raised the issue of potential witness tampering at a previous hearing as well. At the June 28 hearing, she said the panel regularly asks witnesses connected to the Trump administration or campaign whether they’ve been contacted by former colleagues or others in an attempt to influence or impact their testimony.

She provided examples, including how one witness described phone calls from people interested in their testimony:

” ‘What they said to me is as long as I continue to be a team player, they know I’m on the right team. I’m doing the right thing. I’m protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in good graces in Trump World,’ ” Cheney said, quoting the witness. ” ‘And they have reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts.’ “

At that time, Cheney said the committee would discuss the issue and consider its next steps.