Washington, Jul 14 (AP) In the latest Jan. 6 hearing, already standing out for its notable moments, Rep. Liz Cheney saved the most startling for last.

In her closing remarks, the co-chair of the House investigating committee said the panel had learned that former President Donald Trump had recently tried to contact a witness whom “you have not yet seen in these hearings.”

Also Read | Rishi Sunak Wins First Round of Voting in UK Conservative Party Leadership Contest.

The witness apparently recognized the caller ID, and did not answer the phone, instead contacting a lawyer, who then told the committee. The committee in turn referred the matter to the Justice Department.

Though much remains uncertain about the call, including its purpose and the intended recipient, the way it was described on Tuesday raised the prospect that Trump or someone close to him was hoping to shape witness testimony in the ongoing congressional hearings into the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Also Read | Sri Lanka Crisis: Prime Minister And Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe Asks Speaker to Nominate PM Who is Acceptable to All.

While the committee has focused largely on compiling a historical record of the attack and Trump's role in it, Cheney's assertions about the former president's phone call added another layer to the inquiry.

And it was not the first time the committee has raised the possibility of witness tampering. Among its disclosures on that subject, last month the panel revealed that one witness had been contacted by someone it did not identify, reminding the person that they were perceived as "loyal” and would “do the right thing” at their deposition the next day.

The Justice Department declined to comment on Cheney's disclosure, and it was not clear whether prosecutors who are tracking the hearings might follow up on the outreach to witnesses.

Instances cited by the Jan. 6 committee would appear to involve nuance. In one, a witness said they were told that "as long as I continue to be a team player, they know I'm on the right team. I'm doing the right thing. I'm protecting who I need to protect, you know, I'll continue to stay in good graces in Trump World.”

The witness was reminded that Trump does read transcripts.

Another message described by the committee involved a witness who was contacted by a person purporting to pass along a message from someone "who wants me to let you know he's thinking about you. He knows you're loyal and you're going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition."

None of the people were identified by the committee, but some media reports identified the person who got the message as Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.

The principal statute governing witness tampering applies to federal proceedings, whether congressional, executive or judicial. A separate statute makes it a crime to intentionally obstruct a congressional proceeding.

Generally, prosecutors must establish that an official proceeding, such as a congressional hearing, was underway, that there was an intent to influence a witness's testimony, and that the intent was designed to obscure the truth.

That witnesses have described being contacted, or that Trump is said to have a keen interest in testimony or cooperation that could be damaging to him, is perhaps not surprising. Special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation documented instances in which Trump or his associates made contact with people they feared could harm them.

Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone was indicted, then convicted, of witness tampering charges that accused him of urging a witness in a congressional investigation to do a “Frank Petangeli” — a reference to a character in “The Godfather: Part II” who lies to lawmakers. Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, also faced charges that he sought to influence witness testimony.

Mueller's report cites an account from Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, that Trump called him a few days after the FBI served search warrants on Cohen and told the attorney to “hang in there” and to “stay strong.” Friends of Trump told Cohen that the president loved him and had his back.

At the time, Trump's business, the Trump Organization, was paying Cohen's legal fees, but Cohen has said that stopped after he began cooperating with Mueller's investigation.

The Jan. 6 committee is also exploring payments and fees from Trump that have gone to people who have been asked to appear before the panel.

Trump's sprawling fundraising operation paid at least $4.8 million for “legal expenses” to more than 30 different firms between February of 2021 and May of this year, campaign finance disclosures show.

That includes a $50,000 payment to a law firm where one of Steve Bannon's lawyers is a partner. Bannon is facing trial next week on charges of defying the 1/6 committee's subpoena. His lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, did not return an email seeking comment.

Separately, the committee has noted that Trump's political action committee has made a $1 million charitable contribution to a foundation, the Conservative Partnership Institute, where Meadows is a senior partner. That contribution was made in July 2021, months before Meadows had halted his cooperation with the committee. A lawyer for Meadows declined to comment Wednesday. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)