Speaking during the second hearing by the House Select Committee tasked with investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Wyoming Republican Representative Liz Cheney—committee vice chair—criticized former President Donald Trump by suggesting he listened to "an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani" instead of the guidance of his campaign advisors following the 2020 general election.
In outlining upcoming testimony during the ongoing hearings, Cheney said Trump likely followed Giuliani's advice "to just claim he won and insist that the vote counting stop, to falsely claim everything was fraudulent."
You can hear what Cheney said in the video below.
\u201cThe second January 6 hearing begins with Liz Cheney talking about how Trump listened to advice from "an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani"\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1655132139
Cheney said:
"You will hear firsthand testimony that the President's campaign advisors urged him to await the counting of votes and not to declare victory on Election Night."
"The President understood even before the election that many more Biden voters had voted by mail but President Trump ignored the advice of his campaign experts and told his supporters only to vote in person."
"Donald Trump knew before the election that the counting of those mail-in ballots in several states would not begin until late in the day and would not be complete for multiple days."
"This was expected, reported, and widely known. "
"You will also hear testimony that President Trump ignored the advice of his campaign experts on Election Night and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani to just claim he won and insist that the vote counting stop, to falsely claim everything was fraudulent."
Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City who then worked as the former President's personal attorney, was said to be a very open drunk during Trump's time in the White House, so Cheney's suggestion did not exactly come out of the blue.
According to the journalist Michael Wolff, many of Trump's personal advisors believed that Giualini was often drunk or at the very least senile, as when he wrote in Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, that
"Giuliani was, many around Trump believed, always buzzed if not, in the phrase Steve Bannon made famous in the Trump White House, hopelessly 'in the mumble tank."
"Many believed he had the beginnings of senility: focus issues, memory problems, simple logic failures. A vast disorganization of papers and files and tech malfunctions followed in his wake."
Her choice of words quickly attracted significant media attention and many proceeded to mock Giuliani as a result.
\u201cOnly the best people.\nOnly the best decisions.\n\nTrump only listened to the people who told him what he wanted to hear ... no matter how drunk they were.\u201d— Seth Moulton (@Seth Moulton) 1655138636
\u201cThe antithesis between his sober legal council and his apparently inebriated legal council is a pun for the ages.\n\nWell played Liz Cheney.\u201d— Jennifer Mercieca (@Jennifer Mercieca) 1655144047
\u201cGiuliani "inebriated"...? I'm shocked, I tells you, just shocked. \ud83d\ude12\u201d— Deanna Jaynes (@Deanna Jaynes) 1655154200
\u201cThis is crazy.\u201d— ryan \u2642\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@ryan \u2642\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1655138429
\u201cBest line so far, don\u2019t know whether to laugh or cry #January6thHearings #January6thCommittee #January6thCommitteeHearing\u201d— Susan Hirschmann (@Susan Hirschmann) 1655136631
\u201cMy surprised look: \ud83d\ude10\u201d— Mae Moxie (@Mae Moxie) 1655141263
\u201cSo #rudyguiliani is a lush?! Who'd of thunk it? \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Sarah Bailey (@Sarah Bailey) 1655143108
\u201cis the phrase "inebriated @RudyGiuliani " redundant? \n#January6thHearings \n#January6thCommitteeHearings\u201d— Big Guy (@Big Guy) 1655151484
\u201cThis is an abhorrent insult to inebriated people.\u201d— the frogurt is also cursed (@the frogurt is also cursed) 1655136097
Cheney went on to say that Trump "falsely told the American people that the election was not legitimate," and that those in attendance should pay particular attention to statement's made by Trump's legal team about the "far flung conspiracies" surrounding Dominion Voting machines.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), a far-right nonprofit legal firm, determined Trump did better during the 2020 general election in counties that used Dominion Voting machines.
WILL found "no evidence of fraud" despite accusations from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell—a prominent Trump acolyte—that Dominion rigged the election to favor Democratic President Joe Biden.
