House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry is firing back at Rep. Liz Cheney’s claim that he sought a pardon from former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Jay Ostrich, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Republican, said the allegation had no standing and only further went to prove that Congressional inquiry into the incident was a one-sided affair.
“This is a ludicrous and soulless lie,” said Mr. Ostrich. “There’s no surprise that a sham committee’s going to produce sham content.”
Mr. Perry was one of five Republican lawmakers subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 incident. The panel, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, all chosen by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, held the first in a series of televised hearings on Thursday.
The event, which was held in prime time and choreographed by a former president of ABC News, is meant to unpack the committee’s findings heading into the November midterms. During Thursday’s hearing, Mrs. Cheney accused Mr. Perry and several House Republicans of seeking a pardon in the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s White House tenure.
“Representative Perry contacted the White House in the weeks after January 6th to seek a presidential pardon,” said Mrs. Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who serves as vice chair of the investigative panel. “Multiple other Republican congressmen also sought presidential pardons for their roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 election.”
Mr. Perry’s office dismissed the allegations as false and a distraction but said they would not hamper their efforts to hold President Biden and Democrats accountable.
“Congressman Perry is spending his time relentlessly fighting for the American people who are suffering from crippling inflation, record gas prices, emboldened global enemies, and a catastrophic border crisis all brought on by the very people on this kangaroo court who made that disaster happen,” said Mr. Ostrich.
Mrs. Cheney’s office did not return requests for comment for this story.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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