Cheney Rebuffs Trump And Sinking GOP During Tuesday Statement

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During her opening statement at Tuesday’s hearing of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) put former President Donald Trump on direct notice. She insisted that investigators — and Americans at large, really — “must also know what happened every minute of that day in the White House — every phone call, every conversation, every meeting — leading up to, during, and after the attack.” There have been serious questions about what Trump was doing as deadly violence unfolded at the Capitol. For awhile, he remained relatively quiet, as though potentially purposefully letting the dangerous and threatening chaos go forward.

During that Tuesday hearing, Cheney also spoke more broadly about Republicans who have attempted to “whitewash” what happened at the Capitol on that fateful January day. As she put it, no member of Congress “should now attempt to defend the indefensible, obstruct this investigation, or whitewash what happened.” The reality is that an openly murderous mob of supporters of the then-president of the United States stormed the Capitol building and attempted to forcibly stop the peaceful transfer of power. These rioters acted in accordance with self-serving lies from the then-president of the United States about the integrity of last year’s presidential election.

Addressing the four officers who were present as witnesses on Tuesday and who themselves participated in the defense of the Capitol, Cheney said as follows:

‘The videos show the unbelievable violence and the inexcusable and intolerable cruelty that you all faced, and people need to know the truth… Every one of us here on the dais voted for and would have preferred that these matters be investigated by an independent, non-partisan commission… It was defeated by Republicans in the Senate. And that leaves us where we are today. We can not leave the violence of January 6 and its causes un-investigated. The American people deserve the full and open testimony of every person with knowledge of the planning and preparation for January 6. We must know what happened here at the Capitol. We must also know what happened every minute of that day in the White House — every phone call, every conversation, every meeting — leading up to, during, and after the attack.’

“In the end, we are one nation, under God,” Cheney added, speaking to the unity that should underlie attempts to grapple with what happened at the Capitol. She added as follows:

‘No member of Congress should now attempt to defend the indefensible, obstruct this investigation, or whitewash what happened that day. We must act with honor and duty and in the interest of our nation.’

Going forward, Cheney has revealed that she believes that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) may be a “material witness” relevant to the riot investigation. He could be called for testimony. Watch Cheney’s comments below: