OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming appears to be taking on her own Republican Party after being trounced last week in her state’s GOP primary.
In a televised appearance on Sunday, Cheney, who was targeted by former President Donald Trump after she voted to impeach him following the Jan. 6 riot and then joined the House committee investigating the incident, vowed to back some Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I’m going to be very focused on working to ensure that we do everything we can not elect election deniers,” she told ABC’s “This Week.”
“We’ve got election deniers that have been nominated for really important positions all across the country,” Cheney added. “I’m going to work against those people. I’m going to work to support their opponents.”
That said, the Republican National Committee in June put together a 10-minute montage of Democrats all denying Trump’s 2016 victory and its legitimacy.
MUST WATCH: 10 minutes of Democrats denying election results. pic.twitter.com/bJRbzEcIO2
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 23, 2022
Cheney was soundly beaten by Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman, whom Trump backed last fall, and according to a series of polls in the months afterward, she took — and held — a commanding lead over the incumbent.
Since the primary, there’s been additional controversy.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week, Hageman was asked if she had received a concession phone call from Cheney following her loss.
Hageman told Hannity that she got a voicemail from Cheney that only said, “Hello, Harriet” — adding that the call did not contain “any kind of a concession.”
WATCH:
Hageman: There wasn’t a phone call… She called and left a very brief two second message.. All she said was hello Harriet.. She didn’t call and discuss any kind of concession.. pic.twitter.com/rlYiYaG2pS
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 18, 2022
Following the GOP nominee’s remarks, the Cheney campaign hurriedly sent an audio recording of Cheney’s phone call to a Politico reporter, Olivia Beavers, who then posted it to her Twitter page under an “EXCLUSIVE” banner.
The recording begins with Hageman’s voicemail greeting before Cheney is heard saying: “Hi Harriet. Liz Cheney calling. It’s about 8:13 on Tuesday the 16th. I’m calling to concede the election and to congratulate you on the win. Thanks. Bye, bye.”
“The audio contradicts the narrative Hageman gave on Hannity tonight that she “didn’t address any kind of concession or anything else,” Beavers noted in her post.
EXCLUSIVE: I’ve obtained audio from the Cheney campaign of the concession voicemail Rep. Liz Cheney’s left for Harriet Hageman last night.
The audio contradicts the narrative Hageman gave on Hannity tonight that she “didn’t address any kind of concession or anything else.” https://t.co/SZTxyyEmTn pic.twitter.com/LodE9YVVIW
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) August 18, 2022
“NEW: Rep. Liz Cheney tells me her concession call to Harriet Hageman ended up being a ‘clear and direct’ voicemail that she left before she went on stage last night, after trying multiple times to get in touch w/ her. Cheney says she still has not heard anything back,” Beavers added in another Twitter post.
NEW: Rep. Liz Cheney tells me her concession call to Harriet Hageman ended up being a "clear and direct" voicemail that she left before she went on stage last night, after trying multiple times to get in touch w/ her.
Cheney says she still has not heard anything back.
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) August 17, 2022
Needless to say, Cheney supporters leaped to her defense, including noted anti-Trump commentator Stephen Hayes.
“It’s such a small thing but it says so much. The lying is inveterate. It’s habitual. Say anything at all — true or untrue — so long as it wins you MAGApplause. And there will be zero price paid for having been caught in such an embarrassing lie,” he wrote.
It's such a small thing but it says so much.
The lying is inveterate. It's habitual. Say anything at all — true or untrue — so long as it wins you MAGApplause.
And there will be zero price paid for having been caught in such an embarrassing lie. https://t.co/tsLMhdazNK
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) August 18, 2022
But not long afterward, Hageman’s campaign released a recording of the voicemail that was left on her phone, which was “Hi, Harriet…” followed by silence.
Beavers was left to speculate that “technical/cell service issues” may have been to blame for the differences in recordings, and some of those who piled on Hageman — like Hayes — were forced to apologize for leaping to conclusions.
I tweeted last night accusing Harriet Hageman of lying about the voicemail concession left for her by Liz Cheney. I was wrong. This video from @Olivia_Beavers suggests tech issues may have caused the problem. My apologies.https://t.co/n7PVFiHFil
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) August 18, 2022
Others took Beavers to task, including The Federalist’s senior editor Mollie Hemingway.
“This is why you should never take ‘Acyn”s transcripts at face value. What Hageman said was that there was only a brief voicemail and that Cheney ‘didn’t call *and discuss with me* any kind of concession or anything else.’ This audio CONFIRMS rather than CONTRADICTS that,” Hemingway wrote.
This is why you should never take “Acyn”‘s transcripts at face value. What Hageman said was that there was only a brief voicemail and that Cheney “didn’t call *and discuss with me* any kind of concession or anything else.” This audio CONFIRMS rather than CONTRADICTS that.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) August 18, 2022
