The House Administration Oversight Subcommittee released an interim report on Tuesday regarding the January 6 Capitol riot, concluding that it was preventable and alleging misconduct during the Democrat-led congressional investigation. The report calls for an FBI investigation into former Rep. Liz Cheney for criminal witness tampering and perjury facilitation.
“Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the report stated.
The subcommittee noted that Cheney secretly communicated with Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide and key witness during the televised hearings, without the knowledge of Hutchinson’s attorney. “This secret communication with a witness is improper and likely violates 18 U.S.C. 1512,” the report asserted. “Such action is outside the due functioning of the legislative process and therefore not protected by the Speech and Debate clause.”
Federal law imposes penalties of up to 20 years in prison for witness tampering.
The report also accused Cheney of encouraging false testimony from Hutchinson, including her claim that President Trump tried to commandeer his presidential limousine to join the Capitol crowd. This account was later refuted by the Secret Service. The report further alleged Cheney’s involvement in material changes to Hutchinson’s testimony through an errata sheet that introduced conflicting narratives.
Loudermilk’s findings suggested Cheney violated 18 U.S.C. 1622, which prohibits procuring another person to commit perjury. “Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, Hutchinson committed perjury when she lied under oath to the Select Committee,” the report stated.
The interim report also accused the January 6 committee of failing to preserve significant evidence, including over one terabyte of data, and revealed allegations of collusion between Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Democrat-led committee. The subcommittee highlighted the discovery of an unredacted witness transcript from the January 6 investigation in documents released by Smith in October, despite the committee claiming it had not archived or destroyed such materials.
Additional findings in the report include:
- Missing Evidence: The January 6 Select Committee failed to preserve key evidence, including videos of witness interviews.
- Capitol Security Oversight: Speaker Nancy Pelosi admitted some responsibility for the lack of adequate Capitol security in unaired footage from an HBO documentary.
- Delayed National Guard Deployment: Department of Defense officials delayed deploying the National Guard despite standing orders from President Trump.
Loudermilk concluded the report with a letter to his colleagues, criticizing Congress for misleading the public for political gain.
“Americans expect and deserve a government that is small in size, limited in scope, and fully accountable to the people, as our Founders intended,” Loudermilk wrote. “The actions of some elected officials and certain government bureaucrats in the aftermath of January 6, 2021, are evidence of how we have ventured far away from those basic principles of our constitutional republic.”
Read the full report: here.
