Cheney: Investigate Trump’s ‘Every Call, Every Conversation, Every Meeting’ on Jan. 6
Liz Cheney wants to know what Trump knew about the attack on the Capitol and when did he know it.
The Wyoming congresswoman, one of only two Republicans on the House select committee that began its query of the January 6th insurrection on Tuesday, said in her opening remarks that every conversation had by Trump and members of his administration on that fateful day needs to be brought to light.
“We cannot leave the violence of January 6th—and its causes—uninvestigated. The American people deserve the full and open testimony of every person with knowledge of the planning and preparation for January 6th,” Cheney said. “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.”
.@RepLizCheney on January 6th: "If those responsible are not held accountable, and if Congress does not act responsibly, this will remain a cancer on our constitutional republic, undermining the peaceful transfer of power at the heart of our democratic system." pic.twitter.com/MCKH4zg1cq
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 27, 2021
Cheney—who was booted in May from her position as conference chairwoman, the number three position in the party’s leadership, for her insufficient loyalty to Trump—reserved some of her strongest remarks for members of her own party. “Will we be so blinded by partisanship that we throw away the miracle of America?” Cheney asked. “Do we hate our political adversaries more than we love our country and revere our Constitution?”
In May, Cheney said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who greased the skids of her leadership ouster, should “absolutely” testify in front of the committee, saying, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he were subpoenaed.” Back in February, Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler said that McCarthy told her that he spoke to Trump on January 6th and told him to “call off the riot.”
And during a Good Morning America appearance on Tuesday, Cheney said that Republican Rep. Jim Jordan may also be called to testify. “He’s somebody who was involved in a number of meetings in the lead-up to what happened on 6 January, involved in planning for 6 January, certainly for the objections that day as he said publicly, so he may well be a material witness,” she said.
Cheney has received credit from some Democrats and the media for simply doing the right thing regarding the Capitol attack. But the fact that Cheney stands on the side of justice regarding this issue is more of a reflection on the present state of the GOP than the congresswoman herself, who has very little in common with what most of her Democratic colleagues support.