In opening remarks at the Monday proceedings where the House committee investigating the Capitol riot recommended former President Donald Trump to the Justice Department for prosecution on several serious criminal charges, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tore into Trump’s record, insisting the former president is unfit to serve in any office.
“At the heart of our Republic is the guarantee of the peaceful transfer of power,” Cheney observed after discussing a forebear of hers who fought for the Union in the Civil War and others throughout American history who have been prepared to die for that which the United States represents. She also discussed past actions from George Washington and comments from Ronald Reagan outlining the powerful precedent of that peaceful transition.
“Every president in our history has defended this orderly transfer of authority — except one,” Cheney continued. “January 6, 2021, was the first time one American president refused his constitutional duty to transfer power peacefully to the next. In our work over the last 18 months, the Select Committee has recognized our obligation to do everything we can to ensure this never happens again. At the beginning of our investigation, we understood that tens of millions of Americans had been persuaded by President Trump that the 2020 election was stolen by overwhelming fraud, and we also knew this was flatly false… Among the most shameful of this committee’s findings was that President Trump sat in the dining room off the Oval Office watching the violent riot at the Capitol on television. For hours, he would not issue a public statement instructing his supporters to disperse and leave the Capitol.”
“In addition to being unlawful as described in our report, this was an utter moral failure and a clear dereliction of duty,” the Congresswoman added. “No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. He is unfit for any office.”
Trump has already announced a campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, although he hasn’t done much to further that campaign since doing so. Some, like the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, have previously announced an interest in getting Trump legally barred per a court order from again serving as president under provisions of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that restrict those involved in insurrection from serving in government. Trump remains unrepentant and has pushed for the release of all those detained in connection to the riot.
And just to be clear on the kind of action Trump is helping inspire, an already charged Capitol rioter was recently arrested again and charged with an array of federal criminal offenses for conspiring to kill law enforcement agents ostensibly involved in building the case against him. It appears as though that defendant, Edward Kelley, might now be facing up to life in prison if found guilty. Check out Cheney’s comments below:
