Former Wyoming Republican Representative Liz Cheney criticized President-elect Donald Trump after he told Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that Cheney and others on the House select committee that investigated the January 6 Capitol insurrection "should be jailed."
Cheney angered her own party and was ousted from her leadership position in the House of Representatives after she pushed back against Trump's falsehoods about the integrity of the 2020 election. She later served as Vice Chair of the House Select Committee on January 6, which resulted in her losing her primary to MAGA extremist Harriet Hageman, whom Trump endorsed.
Trump has attacked Cheney many times over her involvement and in an interview on Meet the Press that aired Sunday, he told host Kristen Welker that lawmakers who served on the select committee should be jailed, alleging they committed a "major crime."
Trump said:
“Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with [Chairman Bennie] Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps. And Cheney was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee. For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Cheney soon after responded with the following blistering statement calling Trump's remarks "an assault on the rule of law":
“Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power."
"“He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave."
“This was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history. Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”
Trump's allegation that the select committee had “deleted and destroyed evidence” during their investigation is false.
The committee published an extensive 845-page report documenting Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The report included testimony from numerous Republicans who had worked closely with both the former president and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
All evidence is available online.
The committee published an extensive 845-page report documenting Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The report included testimony from numerous Republicans who had worked closely with both the former president and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Cheney also referenced a letter Mississippi Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, one of her colleagues on the January 6 committee, wrote last year explaining that the committee had requested the executive branch to review certain materials first to safeguard “law enforcement sensitive operational details and private, personal information that, if released, could endanger the safety of witnesses.”
She said:
"Donald Trump knows his claims about the select committee are ridiculous and false, as has been detailed extensively, including by Chairman Thompson."
"There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting — a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee — and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct."
Many have also condemned Trump's remarks.
Others praised Cheney for speaking out.
President Joe Biden’s team is deliberating whether to issue blanket pardons before he leaves office to individuals, such as Liz Cheney, who could be targeted by Trump as part of the president-elect’s vowed “retribution” against his opponents.
In her statement, Cheney did not indicate whether she would accept such a pardon to shield herself from a potentially politically motivated prosecution under the incoming administration.
Ahead of November's election, Cheney criticized Trump for sharing an image accusing her of treason and calling for "televised military tribunals."
Addressing Trump directly, she said the meme he "re-truthed" to his followers on Truth Social is "the type of thing that demonstrates yet again that you are not a stable adult—and are not fit for office."
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