Trump Intensifies Attack on Liz Cheney, Accuses Her of 'Treason' and Calls For 'Military Tribunal'

Former president Donald Trump seems to have already laid out plans to bring legal action against his political rivals in the event of a second term. Trump intensified his threats over the weekend, posting messages on his social media page while referring to 'military tribunals' and a particular member of his own party.

He declared that former Republican Representative Liz Cheney was 'guilty of treason' in one of his contentious posts. Trump also reposted an image calling Cheney to be prosecuted in 'televised military tribunals.' In response, however, Cheney quoted the tweet with the message: "Donald - This is the type of thing that demonstrates yet again that you are not a stable adult—and are not fit for office."

As per Newsweek, Cheney, a member of Congress representing Wyoming's at-large Congressional district, rose to prominence as one of the Republican Party's most outspoken critics of Trump after a group of the former president's supporters violently protested the results of the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol building. As per The Hill, Trump had gone after Cheney in March as well. “She should be prosecuted for what she has done to our country! She illegally destroyed the evidence. Unreal!", he posted on Truth Social in all caps.

In response, she wrote on X (while quoting the Republican leader's message): "Hi Donald: you know these are lies. You have had all the grand jury & J6 transcripts for many months. You’re trying to halt your 1/6 trial because your VP, WH counsel, WH aides, campaign & DOJ officials etc will testify against you. You’re afraid of the truth and you should be."

As per Mediaite, Trump's March tweet was provoked by a now-debunked piece written by The Federalist’s editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway, titled, 'Liz Cheney, January 6 Committee Suppressed Exonerating Evidence Of Trump’s Push For National Guard.' “Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence that President Donald Trump pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation’s capital, a previously hidden transcript obtained by The Federalist shows,” Hemingway wrote in the article.

The article also alleged, “Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato’s first transcribed interview with the committee was conducted on January 28, 2022. In it, he told Cheney and her investigators that he overheard White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows push Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as many National Guard troops as she needed to protect the city.” Hemingway further claimed that “Not only did the committee not accurately characterize the interview, they suppressed the transcript from public review.” 

In 2022, the testimony of Ornato's transcript was made available to the public. Since he was the former Secret Service agent in charge of Trump's protective detail, Ornato's testimony was only permitted to be made public in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security. For security concerns, it did contain certain redactions.