Cheney accuses Stefanik of deleting 2021 statement condemning Jan. 6 protesters

Former GOP House chair Liz Cheney on Saturday accused her successor Elise Stefanik of deleting a press release from 2021 condemning protesters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.

On Tuesday, Cheney tweeted at Stefanik, an ally of former President Donald Trump, saying: “This is what ⁦⁦@EliseStefanik said, in a rare moment of honesty, about the January 6 attack on our Capitol. One day she will have to explain how and why she morphed into a total crackpot. History, and our children, deserve to know.”

In Stefanik’s 2021 press release, she condemned the “violence and destruction” of Jan. 6 and called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted.

Stefanik has since downplayed the significance of the attack on the Capitol and cast doubt on the legitimacy of legal action against the attack’s participants. She is reportedly under consideration to be Trump’s VP pick should he win his bid for the presidency.

Cheney formerly was vice chair of the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack — which Stefanik has described as ”illegitimate and unconstitutional.” Cheney became the focus of Trump’s ire and lost in the primary for her Montana House seat in 2022.

On Saturday, Cheney posted again to point out that the statement in question was no longer available on Stefanik’s official House website.

As of Saturday morning, the website showed no press releases prior to 2023.

In a statement to POLITICO, a spokesperson for Stefanik accused Cheney of “lashing out” over personal animus, noting that Stefanik’s previous statements could still be found on several social media channels.