May 13, 2022: SCOOP: Behind the McCarthy subpoena

When GOP Rep. Liz Cheney decided to risk everything politically and
serve on Nancy Pelosi's newly created Jan. 6 investigative panel in the
spring of last year, she made something of a vow to herself, according
to people close with the Wyoming Republican: She would follow the facts
wherever they went, and privately press for the panel to leave no stone
unturned to get to the truth of the siege of the Capitol. 

No half-baked probes. No shrinking away from key witnesses, as Democrats
had done in their past impeachments of Donald Trump. If she was going to
do this, she was going to go all the way — even as some members of the
panel, we heard back then, didn’t even want to investigate Trump’s
actions that day.

On Thursday, Washington saw the latest fruits of Cheney’s labor, when
the Jan. 6 committee shocked This Town and subpoenaed five House GOP
lawmakers to testify — including the likely next speaker of the House,
Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Well-placed sources tell us that Cheney — who
was booted from her post as No. 3 Republican in the House one year to
the day before the subpoenas were issued — was among those pressing
hardest for this move, arguing that these GOP members had relevant
information and they couldn’t just let them skirt without questioning.

Listen to Playbook Deep Dive: ‘He absolutely betrayed me’: Steve Schmidt
tells all about John McCain

Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.

When GOP Rep. Liz Cheney decided to risk everything politically and serve on Nancy Pelosi's newly created Jan. 6 investigative panel in the spring of last year, she made something of a vow to herself, according to people close with the Wyoming Republican: She would follow the facts wherever they went, and privately press for the panel to leave no stone unturned to get to the truth of the siege of the Capitol. 

No half-baked probes. No shrinking away from key witnesses, as Democrats had done in their past impeachments of Donald Trump. If she was going to do this, she was going to go all the way — even as some members of the panel, we heard back then, didn’t even want to investigate Trump’s actions that day.

On Thursday, Washington saw the latest fruits of Cheney’s labor, when the Jan. 6 committee shocked This Town and subpoenaed five House GOP lawmakers to testify — including the likely next speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Well-placed sources tell us that Cheney — who was booted from her post as No. 3 Republican in the House one year to the day before the subpoenas were issued — was among those pressing hardest for this move, arguing that these GOP members had relevant information and they couldn’t just let them skirt without questioning.

Listen to Playbook Deep Dive: ‘He absolutely betrayed me’: Steve Schmidt tells all about John McCain

Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.