Ahead of new public hearings put on by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, where Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) serves as vice chair, Cheney tore into (certain) fellow Republicans for forming what she called a “cult of personality” around former President Donald Trump. At this point… is there anything that could get some of the Republicans Cheney had in mind to break with Trump?
After the Capitol riot, House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) originally publicly acknowledged the responsibility Trump held for what happened… and then he stopped by Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, where McCarthy and Trump were photographed together. And in the time since, McCarthy has repeatedly metaphorically stuck his neck out for far-right Republican members of the House, such as Florida’s Matt Gaetz and Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene. It’s clear where McCarthy’s allegiance lies — and he could be the next House Speaker. Cheney, meanwhile, commented as follows:
‘We have too many people now in the Republican Party who are not taking their responsibilities seriously, and who have pledged their allegiance and loyalty to Donald Trump. I mean, it is fundamentally antithetical, it is contrary to everything conservatives believe, to embrace a personality cult. And yet, that is what so many in my party are doing today.’
“I think there is absolutely a cult of personality around Donald Trump,” Cheney added. She also said she felt as though “large segments” of the GOP could fit such a description — not isolated corners of it. Check out Cheney’s remarks below:
Rep. Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, says in an interview with @costareports that there “is absolutely a cult of personality around Donald Trump” in the Republican Party pic.twitter.com/u0XAmZRzCJ
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) June 3, 2022
The first installment of the panel’s new public hearings will be June 9, although witness lists don’t appear available yet. According to the panel, the first hearing — set for 8 p.m. Eastern — will be meant to “provide the American people with a summary of our findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.”
🗓️ Thursday, June 9th at 8:00pm
The Select Committee will hold a hearing to provide the American people with a summary of our findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) June 2, 2022
So far, committee investigators have heard from over a thousand people — meaning it’s pretty clear that the stonewalling undertaken by former President Trump himself and some of his allies hasn’t actually meant the investigation hasn’t been able to proceed. Presumably, revelations of what the committee has uncovered will soon become something like a metaphorical tidal wave, but in the meantime, what’s available is troubling. Cassidy Hutchinson — who was an aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows at the time of the riot and has spoken with the committee three times — revealed to investigators that Trump “suggested to Meadows he approved” of chants from riot participants of “Hang Mike Pence!” according to reporting by CNN. Committee investigators recently scored another victory with the revelation of federal criminal charges against Trump ally and ex-aide Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress over his refusal to cooperate. He’s the second person investigators backed criminally prosecuting on such an offense to actually face it.
