The idea of a political prosecution against former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) is making waves, but legal experts are not convinced it will succeed. Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor, quickly shot down claims that Cheney broke the law during her work on the Jan. 6 committee. In fact, he called a recently released GOP report “over the line.”
Now, former prosecutor Joyce Vance is raising alarms about the report, too.
Vance warns that this could be the beginning of “revenge prosecutions.” The GOP’s referral could lead to an investigation by a Trump-led Justice Department. While that might sound routine on the surface, Vance argues it’s far from normal.
She explains that Cheney is protected by the “speech and debate clause” of the Constitution, which shields lawmakers from prosecution for actions taken in their official roles. So, Vance believes there’s no real case against Cheney—much like how Trump’s presidential immunity protected him from certain legal actions.
In simpler terms, Vance argues that this referral is a rare and questionable move that the Department of Justice would typically avoid. Prosecutors usually won’t pursue a case they believe they can’t win, especially when immunity is involved. And considering the political context with Trump calling for “revenge prosecutions,” this whole situation raises eyebrows.
Vance wraps it up by saying this is not how things should work, and it’s something we shouldn’t ignore.
