Jan. 6 committee refers Donald Trump's witness call to Department of Justice for investigation

Former president Donald Trump personally called a Jan. 6 committee witness, and the committee has forwarded that information to the Department of Justice, said Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.

“We will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously,” Cheney said Tuesday at the latest Jan. 6 committee hearing.

The Department of Justice declined to comment.

This is the second hearing in a row where Cheney has brought up potential witness tampering. At the committee’s June 28 hearing, Cheney shared messages unnamed Trump allies have relayed to unnamed witnesses about staying “loyal”and in good graces with “Trump world.”

“After our last hearing, president Trump tried to call a witness in our investigation, a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings,” Cheney said Tuesday. “That person declined to answer or respond to president Trump’s call and instead alerted their lawyer. Their lawyer alerted us, and this committee has supplied that information to the Department of Justice.”

Witness tampering is a federal crime that is punishable by up to 20 years in prison if a person "uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades" another with the intent of influencing their testimony.

Tuesday's highlights: Missed Day 7 of Jan. 6 hearings? Committee shows march to Capitol was planned, Trump lawyers had screaming match in Oval Office

The Jan. 6 committee does not have the power to bring criminal charges against anyone, but the Department of Justice does.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jan. 6 committee: Trump call to unnamed witness referred to Justice