Former Representative Liz Cheney reissued a warning to Republicans following former President Donald Trump's Thursday indictment in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
Trump is being charged with 37 counts ranging from willful retention of classified documents to obstruction charges in connection to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into whether he mishandled classified documents after leaving office in January 2021 led by special counsel Jack Smith. Federal prosecutors are accusing the former president of mishandling sensitive presidential records and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. Trump, however, has maintained his innocence, accusing prosecutors of investigating him for political reasons.
Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who emerged as one of Trump's top Republican foes, responded to news of the indictment—which comes just weeks after he was indicted in a separate case surrounding an alleged 2016 campaign finance violation surrounding a hush money payment—by referring to a previous warning about Trump.
She tweeted a video on Friday of a warning she made to other Republicans during a June 9, 2022, hearing of the House select committee that was in charge of investigating the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol and Trump's alleged efforts at overturning the 2020 presidential election results.
"Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues. You are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain," Cheney said at the time.
She wrote the warning remains timely for her fellow Republicans, captioning her post: "I said this one year ago tonight. It still applies."
Newsweek reached out to Cheney's The Great Task PAC for comment via email.
Cheney, once a Trump supporter, became one of his fiercest critics within the GOP after the insurrection, when a group of Trump supporters, motivated by his unfounded election fraud claims, violently protested at the Capitol building in a failed effort at forcing Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.
I said this one year ago tonight. It still applies. pic.twitter.com/i0i0vKBPIY
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) June 9, 2023
Following the riot, Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump. She has repeatedly criticized his conduct surrounding the 2020 election and his other legal troubles, and joined the select committee investigating the riot, invoking the ire of Republican voters. Cheney was ultimately defeated in the 2022 GOP primary election to Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman. Despite facing resistance from many conservatives, Cheney continues to sound the alarm about the direction of the Republican Party under Trump's leadership.
Meanwhile, other anti-Trump Republicans have also responded to the indictment. Former Representative Adam Kinzinger, the other Republican to sit on the select committee with Cheney, tweeted: "Today, Justice is being served. Nobody is above the law. The former President will get a fair trial. The former President will be held accountable." Kinzinger also added in another tweet that Trump should withdraw from the 2024 presidential race over the indictment.
Today, Justice is being served. Nobody is above the law.
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) June 8, 2023
The former President will get a fair trial. The former President will be held accountable.
In total, the 37 charges faced by Trump consist of 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents and one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations.
Trump has made several social media posts defending himself against the DOJ's charges. In one Truth Social post, he wrote: "Biden pressed Jack Smith to do this in order to take the pressure off the fact that they caught him stealing $5 Million."
