Liz Cheney on January 6: Trump Continues Making False Claims That He Knows Caused Violence
On the one year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. many lawmakers are taking a moment to acknowledge the events of that day. President Biden even spoke about the events that occurred, saying that "for the first time time in our history, a president not just lost the election, he tried to prevent a peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol."
"We must make sure that never happens again," President Biden stated.
On January 6, 2021, a large swarm of Trump supporters attended a rally of the former president, and then proceeded to storm the Capitol, allegedly at the behest of the 45th President of the United States, in an effort to block lawmakers from certifying President Biden's 2020 election win.
The scene was chaotic. And tragic. Five people lost their lives on that day; a day that never should have happened.
To make sure it never does again, a special investigative committee was formed. The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on The United States Capitol consists of seven Democrats and 2 Republicans. One of those Republicans is Liz Cheney, who subsequently became Co-Chair of the committee, which was designed to investigate exactly what happened on that fateful day, in order to make sure it never happens again.
Of course, Cheney's role in the committee (as well as her vote to impeach Trump) has drawn the ire of fellow Republicans and countless commenters on social media. She has been censured and is perpetually in the crosshairs of the former president, who continually attacks her on his social media platform (one that he had to create himself, because Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube banned Trump due to his rhetoric about the election, and his involvement in the Capitol attack).
Cheney, though, has refused to budge and continues to maintain that Trump should have done more as the sitting president, when his followers began attacking the Capitol.
On Thursday, Cheney reflected on the events that took place one year ago and, once again, laid the blame squarely at the feet of former president Donald Trump.
"The threat continues," Cheney stated on The Today Show. "Former president Trump continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence on January 6th, and it's very important, if you look at what's happening today in my party, in the Republican Party; rather than reject what happened on the 6th, reject the lies about the election, and make clear that a president who engaged in those activities can never be president again...unfortunately too many in my own party are embracing that former president, are looking the other way, are minimizing the danger. That's how democracies die, and we simply cannot let that happen."
"We have unearthed new things in every single aspect of our investigation," Cheney stated. "I'm confident that we'll continue to do so. We've had tremendous cooperation from many, many people, including people in the president's inner circle; people who were in the West Wing that day, people who have come forward to us with information about what they saw and what they know, and I'm confident that cooperation will continue. The Committee is absolutely determined to ensure that we understand the entire plot, the entire plan to overthrow the election to really overturn the rule of law."
President Trump, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, continues to claim that the 2020 election was "stolen," and Cheney disputed those claims as well.
"You know, we had over 60 courts in this country that ruled against the claims the former president was making, and yet he rejected those rulings and attempted to overturn the will of the people," Cheney said. "That simply cannot happen in the United States."
The host asked Rep. Cheney if President Trump was in a better position today than he was a year ago to be able to subvert an election.
"We will not allow him to subvert a U.S. election," Cheney stated. "He is certainly continuing his efforts in that regard. I think it's incumbent upon every one of us who is elected, it is encumbent of every American out there to ensure when they're casting their vote, when they're deciding whom they're going to support, that they are aware that there are candidates that this former president is attempting to support who, for example, would not have certified the election results last time around. That's going to be a critical part of our upcoming elections and we all have a duty to ensure that he cannot subvert this democracy."