Liz Cheney accused House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) of tricking fellow Republicans about his role in a knowingly flawed lawsuit challenging Donald Trump election loss.
The former GOP congresswoman claims in her new book, "Oath and Honor," that the Louisiana Republican did not write a U.S. Supreme Court brief supporting the former president's attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss, and she disputed Johnson's assertion that he was a "constitutional law expert," according to excerpts published by The Guardian.
“As I read the amicus brief — which was poorly written — it became clear Mike was being less than honest,” Cheney wrote. “He was playing bait and switch, assuring members that the brief made no claims about specific allegations of [electoral] fraud when, in fact, it was full of such claims.”
Cheney, who completed her book before Johnson was elected last month to replace Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as House speaker, wrote that she pointed out the flaws in his reasoning, but he pressed on with the effort to get other Republicans to sign onto the brief as a favor to Trump.
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“Mike was seriously misleading our members,” Cheney wrote. “The brief did assert as facts known to the amici many allegations of fraud and serious wrongdoing by officials in multiple states.”
The brief was to be filed in support of a case filed by Texas and other GOP-led states to persuade the Supreme Court to take Trump's side on baseless claims of election fraud, and Cheney said that Johnson added “a new inaccurate claim" in his filing that state officials had been “clearly shown” to have violated the Constitution.
“But virtually all those claims had already been heard by the courts and decided against Trump," she wrote.
Cheney expressed doubts that Johnson had actually written the brief, which asserted facts about which he had no personal knowledge, and she accused him of misleading McCarthy and other members with a revised version of his filing that reluctant Republicans finally agreed to sign.
“Mike Johnson blamed a ‘clerical error’ … [which] was also the rationale given to the Supreme Court for the revised filing," Cheney wrote. "In fact, McCarthy had first chosen not to be on the brief, then changed his mind, likely because of pressure from Trump.”
Cheney ultimately learned that Johnson had not actually written the brief but was instead providing cover for Trump's legal advisers.
“A team of lawyers who were also apparently advising Trump had in fact drafted [it],” she wrote. “Mike Johnson had left the impression that he was responsible for the brief, but he was just carrying Trump’s water.”
A spokesperson for Johnson disputed Cheney's claims, while a representative for Trump said her book should be categorized as fiction.
“Unfortunately, Ms Cheney is not presenting an accurate portrayal of those events," said a spokesperson for Johnson. "And while he does not plan to purchase a copy of Oath and Honor, Speaker Johnson wishes former representative Cheney and her family the best in whatever her future endeavors may be.”
Cheney's book is set for release next Tuesday.
