“We’ll make a decision as a committee about it,” the Wyoming Republican told ABC News when asked about the prospect of referring Trump for prosecution and saying “yes” when asked whether a referral of Trump was possible.
“The Justice Department doesn’t have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral, and there could be more than one criminal referral,” Cheney said.
“We may well as a committee have a view on that,” she said. “If you just think about it from the perspective of: What kind of man knows that a mob is armed and sends the mob to attack the Capitol and further incites that mob when his own vice president is under threat?”
“It’s very chilling, and I think certainly we will continue to present to the American people what we’ve found,” she continued.
Since then, Hutchinson’s sworn testimony has been questioned by some Trump allies, not speaking under oath.
“The committee’s not going to stand by and watch her character be assassinated by anonymous sources and men claiming executive privilege,” Cheney said. “We look forward very much to additional testimony under oath on a whole range of issues.”
Cheney said the committee had evidence corroborating Trump’s fury at being told he couldn’t go to the Capitol on January 6.
“The committee has significant evidence on a whole range of issues, including the President’s intense anger,” she said. “You will continue to see in coming days and weeks additional detail about the President’s activities and behavior on that day.”
Instead, she said they were intended to ensure the American people have an accounting of what happened that day, even as she acknowledged there wasn’t a “single thing” she’s learned that made her less concerned about Trump returning to the White House.
“A man as dangerous as Donald Trump can absolutely never be anywhere near the Oval Office ever again,” she said.
Cheney, who is facing an uphill climb in her bid for reelection in Wyoming, said the Republican Party would not survive if Trump is selected as the GOP presidential nominee in 2024.
While she refused to rule out a presidential bid of her own, she said her focus was currently elsewhere.
“I haven’t made a decision about that yet, and I’m obviously very focused on my reelection, I’m very focused on the January 6 committee, I’m very focused on my obligations to do the job I have now,” she said. “And I’ll make a decision about ’24 down the road.”