Cheney's husband should 'have some integrity' instead of working for China-tied firm, challenger

The Trump-backed primary challenger to Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney is criticizing the congresswoman for her husband profiting off the work his law firm does for China and other dictatorial countries, while his wife publicly calls for holding the Chinese government responsible for its many financial and human rights abuses.

"This is exactly the problem with Washington D.C.," candidate Harriett Hageman said on a recent episode of the "John Solomon Reports" podcast.

Hageman was in part referring to Cheney's work on House Republicans' extremely critical report on China, which was complemented by the work her husband's law firm – Latham & Watkins – was doing for Chinese companies.

"What do we find out when we dig a little bit deeper," said Hageman, is that "her husband and she are personally, financially benefiting from working for China and Kazakhstan and Belarus and Saudi Arabia." 

Cheney's husband, Philip Perry, is a partner at Latham, and though he does not work directly on accounts linked to Chinese companies, as a partner, he reaps directly the financial rewards of the firm as a whole.

Hageman, who contends that Cheney has, over the course of her long career in Congress, spent too much time in the D.C.-area, and too little in her home-state with the people of Wyoming, says it is time to square the circle that is the Cheney-Perry power couple. 

"He has a choice, he can either work with his firm and take the stand that his wife is apparently advocating publicly, and say, 'We're not going to represent countries or companies that, number one have problems with human rights abuses, and number two, who are really kind of in a soft war with the United States.' Or you can go to another law firm," said Hageman. "Have some integrity."

In a recent straw poll conducted by the Wyoming Republican State Central Committee, Hageman bested Cheney by a margin of nearly 12-1. Over the weekend, Cheney was also censured by the Republican National Committee over her ongoing participation on the Democrat-led select panel investigating the Jan. 6 riot. However, Cheney holds a huge fundraising advantage over Hageman and the handful of other challengers in the Aug. 16 primary.