MANCHESTER (N.H.) — Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican Representative, said Tuesday that Trump’s former president is at war with the rule of law. She also stated that GOP lawmakers who remain silent are supporting Trump’s efforts.
Cheney, a Trump critic, is vice chair of the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. He said that the question now is whether citizens will fulfill their duty and “defend Constitution and stand for truth.”
Cheney was speaking at a First Amendment event held in New Hampshire. There is no grey area when it comes down to that question. There is no middle ground.
Cheney was one among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan.6 insurrection. In a futile attempt to keep Trump in power, hundreds of Trump supporters pushed past the police and broke into the U.S. Capitol Building.
She was fired from her post as GOP conference chair after fiercely criticizing Trump. Her insistence that Congress investigate Capitol attack led to serious primary challenges back home. Cheney is the daughter of ex-Vice President Dick Cheney and has described Trump and the Jan.6 insurrection to be an existential struggle for the Republican Party as well as for democracy.
She stated that the nation needed a Republican Party that was based on truth to address the crowd at Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications’ First Amendment Awards event at New Hampshire Institute of Politics, Manchester. She was greeted by polite applause from the crowd and protesters were not present at the event.
She called for a Republican Party that “presents our ideals, our policies based upon substance, and one that is willingly to reject the lies of the former president.” One willing to admit that Trump’s lies have led to the tragic mislead of millions of Americans. Trump continues to use language that he knows has provoked violence on January 6.
Cheney stated that she’s heard of people who downplayed the Jan. 6 rebellion and said “it wasn’t that big of an deal because our institutions held.”
“To those people, I say that our institutions don’t defend themselves. She said that they, the people, must defend them. “Our institutions held on January 6, because of brave men and women elected officials at all levels of our government, who did their duty and stood up for what was right, despite being pressed to do so.”
Wyoming Republican Party officials announced that they would no longer recognize Cheney’s membership because she voted to impeach Trump. Many others have announced plans to challenge Cheney in the next election. Trump has endorsed Harriet Hageman, a Wyoming attorney, for the seat.
Cheney has, for her part reported record fundraising that far exceeds the amount raised by her rivals.
The Jan. 6 House Committee issued subpoenas Tuesday to 10 additional former officials working for Trump at the end his presidency. These included Kayleigh McEnany, senior adviser Stephen Miller, and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
