COLD CALL

Liz Cheney Releases Concession-Call Audio That Undermines Rival’s Fox News Claims

Trump-backed Harriet Hageman said Cheney never fully conceded. Cheney had the receipts.

In a less than magnanimous move, Harriet Hageman on Wednesday complained on Fox News that Rep. Liz Cheney hadn’t fully conceded the Wyoming GOP primary race. Trump-backed Hageman told Sean Hannity that Cheney had “left a very brief two-second message on my cellphone” after the count Tuesday night, but hadn’t addressed “any kind of concession or anything else.” But an audio recording released by Cheney’s campaign to Politico showed that Hageman’s version of events wasn’t exactly accurate. “Hi, Harriet, it is Liz Cheney calling,” Cheney can be heard saying in the audio, along with an aide informing the incumbent that the Associated Press had just called the race for Hageman. “It is about 8:13 on Tuesday the 16th, I’m calling to concede the election and congratulate you on the win. Thanks.” Hagemen had told Hannity that Cheney had “just said ‘Hello, Harriet’ and then hung up.” Politico says Hageman’s campaign provided a video that showed a voice message from Cheney’s number saying Cheney’s two-word greeting before going silent for 10 seconds. Elsewhere, Bloomberg News reports that President Biden contacted Cheney on Wednesday after her primary defeat, though no details were given about what was said.