Opening Salvo From Liz Cheney Revealed To Start Jan. 6 Hearing

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Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) will reportedly be delivering an opening statement at this Tuesday’s hearing of the House committee that was recently set up to investigate the Capitol riot. Apparently, she will be speaking after committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) delivers his own opening statement. The hearing will feature testimony from four local police officers who participated in the defense of the Capitol on January 6, when, amid the riot, scores of law enforcement personnel were violently assaulted by Trump supporters. D.C. officer Michael Fanone, who will be at Tuesday’s hearing, was dragged by Trump supporters down stairs at the Capitol and repeatedly tased at the base of his skull.

Cheney’s opening statement on Tuesday will provide her with an opportunity to prominently establish her opposition to attempts by other Republicans to essentially gloss over the reality of what happened at the Capitol. She, like Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), the only other Republican on the riot investigation committee so far, has already been particularly outspoken regarding the seriousness with which she’s approaching the Capitol violence. In contrast, Trump himself has characterized what happened at the Capitol that day as a “lovefest,” which is, of course, completely ridiculous. Meanwhile, Cheney has also spoken out against the lies about the integrity of last year’s presidential election that Trump and others have spread and which inspired the riot.

Cheney has previously stated that the Tuesday hearing is “going to be an opportunity for the country to hear from some of the very brave people who defended the Capitol on that day, to hear their experiences directly, to put some facts on the table.” She’s also spoken against House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), who withdrew all five of his selections for the riot investigation committee after Pelosi blocked two of his picks. Asked about the possibility of McCarthy becoming House Speaker in the event of Republicans regaining control of the House in 2022, Cheney said that she believes “that any person who would be third in line to the presidency must demonstrate a commitment to the Constitution and a commitment to the rule of law, and Minority Leader McCarthy has not done that.”