"They should go to jail": Trump says Cheney should be investigated by FBI over Jan. 6 committee

Trump said all members of Congress who took part in January 6 investigations should be imprisoned

Published December 8, 2024 11:23AM (EST)

Former US Representative from Wyoming (R) Liz Cheney speaks onstage during the 2024 Martin Luther King, Jr. Beloved Community Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church on January 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Former US Representative from Wyoming (R) Liz Cheney speaks onstage during the 2024 Martin Luther King, Jr. Beloved Community Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church on January 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump called for Liz Cheney to be thrown in jail in his first televised interview since winning a second term.

Trump's sit-down with Kristen Welker of NBC's "Meet the Press" did little to discourage the idea that he will use his office for score-settling. In one particularly troubling moment, he argued that former Rep. Liz Cheney should be thrown in jail for her work investigating Trump's actions on January 6.

"Cheney was behind it and so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee...For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail," he said in the interview that aired on Sunday. 

The House's January 6th Committee ultimately found that Trump should be prosecuted for his actions leading up to and during the storming of the U.S. Capitol. An election interference case against Trump played out under the direction of Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has wound down his prosecutions of the president now that Trump is set to take office again. 

For her part, Welker tried to give Trump an out. She asked him directly if he really thinks Cheney, a vocal supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris in the weeks leading up to the election, should be imprisoned.

"For what they did...I think everybody on the [committee], anybody that voted in favor [should go to jail]," he said.

Welker asked if Trump would go so far as to direct his attorney general to send Cheney to jail, at which point he finally pulled back. 

"Not at all, I think they'll have to look at that," he said. "I'm going to focus on 'drill, baby, drill.'"

Watch the exchange below:


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