Near then end of today’s January 6 House Select Committee hearing, we learned that there have been efforts to exert influence on witnesses who appear before the panel.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who serves as vice chair of the committee, announced:
“The easy course is to hide from the spotlight and to deny what happened. We have evidence of one particular practice that raises significant concern.
“Our committee commonly asks witnesses connected to Mr. Trump’s administration or campaign whether they’ve been contacted by any of their former colleagues or anyone else who attempted to influence or impact their testimony.”
Cheney then read one example of a communique that had been sent to a witness:
“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 protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in good graces in Trump World. And they have reminded me a couple of times that Trump does read transcripts and just to keep that in mind as I proceeded through my depositions and interviews with the committee.”
In another example, someone called a witness and said an unnamed person “wants me to let you know that they are thinking about you. He knows you’re loyal, and you’re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition.”
Clearly, what Cheney was hinting at was witness tampering, which is a very serious federal crime.
And now we have another example of potential witness tampering, this time aimed directly at today’s star witness, former Trump administration official Cassidy Hutchinson.
The threat aimed at Hutchinson comes from none other than Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who sent this tweet:
“Cassidy Hutchinson lied and the@January6thCmte held a special hearing today to broadcast her lies. In ‘23, every single one of them need to be held accountable for what they are putting Pres Trump, his admin, & Republicans through on the people’s dime.
“Enough of this.”
Be sure and note the reference Greene made to a tweet from right-wing lugnut Jack Posobiec, which suggests that Trump couldn’t have possibly reached into the front seat of the limo the way Hutchinson alleged.
However, neither Posobiec or Greene paying very close attention, as another person reminded them regarding the limo:
Let’s not forget just how rich it is that Greene is accusing someone of lying, something both she and Donald Trump do more often then they exhale.
And then there’s the matter of Greene requesting a pardon from Trump as he was preparing to leave office. Who needs a pardon? A guilty person, and thanks to Cassidy Hutchinson we know that Greene and others Republicans in Congress were begging to be pardoned.
But the threat from Greene to Hutchinson and others can clearly be seen as witness tampering, and she damn sure won’t be getting any pardons before 2025 at the soonest if she’s charged and convicted.
So thanks, Margie. You just provided all the evidence needed to nail your trifling ass to the wall and send you off to prison.