'Aren’t they doing Trump’s bidding?' CNN host corners GOP rep over potential Liz Cheney probe

House Republicans may soon be setting their sights on former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) next year over her role on the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, following through on President-elect Donald Trump's promise to seek retribution against his political enemies.

In a Wednesday interview, CNN host Jim Acosta had a contentious exchange with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) over the proposed criminal investigation. The Hill reports that the call for Cheney to be investigated – which came from a report by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) — was allegedly for "witness tampering" through conversations with former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Acosta asked Burchett if the true motivation for the investigation was merely Republicans wanting to placate the incoming president.

"The report came out just days after Donald Trump said that Liz Cheney and other members of the committee should go to jail," Acosta said. "Aren't they just doing his bidding?"

READ MORE: GOP reps call for criminal investigation into Liz Cheney over role on Jan. 6 committee

"That's why people do not trust the media," Burchett countered, arguing that Loudermilk's report was just as valid as the House Ethics Committee's soon-to-be-published report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) "If she didn't break the law, then she's fine. but if she did break the law, she should be held accountable. What is wrong with them asking questions?"

Acosta pointed out that the House Ethics Committee voted to release the Gaetz report "with some Republican help," while Loudermilk's report recommending an investigation into Cheney is "banana republic stuff." Burchett, however, maintained that Cheney should be investigated "if she broke the law."

"There's no evidence she broke the law," Acosta said. "They just looked into what happened on January 6th and Donald Trump's attempt to overturn a free and fair election."

"If they found [evidence], I think it ought to be brought to light. If not, then she's fine," Burchett said. "I don't have a problem with them investigating that."

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Acosta maintained that there was "no evidence" that Cheney broke the law, and then asked Burchett directly: "You want the government to go after Trump's political enemies"?

"If they broke the law. I don't care if they're my political enemies or they're my friends," the Tennessee Republican said. "If they broke the law, dadgummit, they ought to be brought in and they ought to be brought to justice... It was a witch hunt from the start. that's why the final episode of that crazy thing, there was more people watching re-runs of Spongebob on the on the Cartoon Network than that clown show."

"So is this about getting revenge?" Acosta asked. "Is this about Trump getting revenge and House Republicans going along with it?"

"It's about justice. When we point the finger at somebody who's not kind to us, you all automatically assume it's it's political," Burchett bristled. "It was all a political witch hunt."

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Watch the exchange below, or by clicking this link.