| | | Some of Trump's backers are helping Liz Cheney behind closed doors as she plots her next move
Sarah K. Burris
August 23, 2022
\Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) will finish out her term in Congress by the end of the year after losing the Republican primary in her state last week. Political analysts are looking at her next steps, but it appears supporters of Donald Trump are as well.
CNBC reported Tuesday that a group of political consultants tied to Trump and the Koch brothers' network are joining forces with her as she tries to decide whether she'll run for president.
Cheney has been a key part of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on Congress and the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. So, she's well versed in Trump's behavior that day and in the lead-up to the violence. If Trump runs for president in 2024, Cheney is mulling whether to strike out against him.
“I believe that Donald Trump continues to pose a very grave threat and risk to our republic. And I think that defeating him is going to require a broad and united front of Republicans, Democrats and independents, and that’s what I intend to be a part of,” Cheney told NBC's morning show last week.
After losing on Tuesday, she launched a leadership PAC to help raise money for ongoing political efforts after she leaves office. Meanwhile, Trump is facing yet another scandal as he's being exposed for stealing government documents, including top secret and other highly classified information, and taking it with him to his golf club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Cheney's network is coordinating with the Kochs, who appear to be using LLCs "to shroud their identity from the public," CNBC reported.
“These people are going to be persona non grata after the Cheney loss,” said one senior Republican strategist from Trump world when asked about Cheney. Among those is Jeff Miller, a lobbyist and close ally to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), reported The New York Times.
Charles Koch has been helping Cheney through i360, a tech company owned by Koch Industries.
Two PACs, Conservatives for a Strong America and Wyomingites Defending Freedom and Democracy, gave more than $300,000 for i360 to promote Cheney, Axios reported earlier this month. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity, another Koch enterprise, paid $11 million to i360 for data services, according to tax disclosures. The Kochs haven't been allies of Trump, refusing to support him in 2016 or 2020, but the company did work with the Trump White House on some initiatives.
"People close to Trump told CNBC that the former president and those aligned with him could move to halt future work with those who were employed by Cheney’s team," the report said.
Another revelation is that a company called Red Right Media was behind more than $1 million in advertising and media for Cheney in the primary. That company is actually an alternative name for X/Roads Communications, which is run by veteran Republican strategist Mike Dubke, who worked for Trump as a White House communications director. He left after less than 100 days.
SCM Associates is another group that worked with Cheney on direct mail consulting. The New Hampshire company also worked for Trump during the 2020 campaign cycle. TAG Strategies, a political marketing firm worked for Trump too in 2020, but they also worked for Cheney in 2022.
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