News/Commentary

Jan 6 committee subpoenas Liz Cheney’s primary opponent, and the timing is raising eyebrows

June 13, 2022 | | Print Article

In case you were questioning the real motives behind the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.)  has subpoenaed her primary political opponent’s campaign manager and will now be able to grill him live, on Monday’s episode of the prime-time hearings.

William Stepien was Donald Trump’s campaign manager, and according to Breitbart, he “was a primary mover in former President Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign.”

Today, however, Stepien is the campaign advisor to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman, who is currently whomping Cheney in the polls with a 30-point lead.

Blatant conflicts of interest aside, Stepien will now have to endure a litany of “gotcha” questions from Cheney.

It isn’t the first time Stepien has been hauled before the committee. He was also subpoenaed last November.

According to that subpoena, “Stepien reportedly ‘supervised the conversion’ within Trump’s campaign around ‘Stop the Steal’ messaging and associate fundraising,” The Hill reported. “That messaging ‘included the promotion of certain false claims related to voting machines despite an internal campaign memo in which campaign staff determined such claims were false,’ the committee added.”

But the timing around this latest, unexpected subpoena is raising eyebrows.

Taylor Budowich, the director of communications for “Save America” and Donald Trump called the move “an embarrassment.”

“The day after a poll was released showing @Liz_Cheney getting destroyed by Trump-endorsed @HaggermanforWY, the committee just happened to subpoena Stepien, who is running Harriet’s campaign,” he tweeted Sunday. “This circus is beyond an embarrassment and will forever stain the integrity of congress.”

The rivalry behind Cheney and Hageman is hardly a secret. In fact, it has been playing out in real-time on social media for quite a while now, and the snark is real.

Back in September, former President Trump issued a glowing endorsement of Hageman in which he slammed Cheney as a “warmonger” and a “RINO,” short for “Republican In Name Only.”

“I strongly endorse Republican House of Representative Candidate Harriet Hageman from Wyoming who is running against warmonger and disloyal Republican Liz Cheney,” Trump wrote in a statement at the time.

After listing Hageman’s many qualifications, Trump took another swipe at Cheney.

“Unlike RINO Liz Cheney, Harriet is all in for America First,” he wrote. “Harriet has my Complete and Total Endorsement in replacing the Democrats number one provider of sound bites, Liz Cheney. Make America Great Again!”

Cheney responded to the endorsement with, “Here’s a sound bite for you: Bring it.”

Undaunted, Hageman struck back with a smooth and snarky jab aimed directly at Cheney’s seat on the Jan. 6 committee.

“Planning on it,” she replied. “If you’re not busy meeting with Pelosi come back and visit us in Wyoming sometime.”

This is the level of acrimony between the two candidates, and it is in this climate that Stepien will be forced to testify with Cheney acting as Chief Inquisitor.

The mere thought of it has liberal loon Keith Olbermann practically salivating.

In response to a “good primer” on Stepien, Olbermann tweeted, “Stepien testifying tomorrow is a jaw-dropping surprise. He was still considered Trump-adjacent as late as … (checks watch) this morning.”

But while Stepien may be center ring for Monday’s circus, it is unclear just how nicely he’ll play with his boss’s nemesis.

As a source close to Axios’ Jonathan Swain allegedly said, “He got subpoenaed — not sure he is a ‘friendly’ witness.”

Melissa Fine
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