Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:45 pm
During an appearance on The TODAY Show, Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) stressed that “the threat” to American democracy continues one year after the attack on the United States Capitol continues and rebuked members of her own party for backing former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 general election was stolen.
“The threat continues,” Cheney told Savannah Guthrie. “Former President Trump continues to make the same claims that he knows caused violence on January 6.
“And it’s very important, if you look at what’s happening today in my party, the Republican party, rather than reject what happened on (January) 6, 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,” she said.
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She emphasized: “That’s how democracies die, and we simply cannot let that happen.”
Cheney also took aim at Republicans and members of the media who have tried to rewrite the narrative about the attack by claiming it was simply a peaceful gathering.
“All of my colleagues, anyone who attempts to minimize what happened, anyone who denies the truth of what happened, they ought to be ashamed of themselves,” Cheney said. “History is watching, and history will judge them.”
Cheney made clear that she and the other members of the House Select Committee tasked with investigating the insurrection “will not let the former president hide behind these phony claims of privilege,” referring to Trump’s claims that he can invoke executive privilege to avoid complying with the committee’s subpoenas.
You can watch Cheney’s interview in the video below.
“We all have a duty to ensure that he cannot subvert this democracy.”
Watch @SavannahGuthrie’s full interview with @RepLizCheney on where things stand with the investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection one year after the attack at the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/71eUK6WbCt
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 6, 2022
Cheney has paid dearly for refusing to back Republicans or support Trump for his actions, once referring to his lies about the election as “the most dangerous thing a president has ever done.”
Cheney was ousted from her leadership position in the House after she pushed back against Trump’s falsehoods when Trump issued a statement, more than three months after President Joe Biden took office, calling Biden’s victory “the big lie.”
Cheney responded shortly afterward with a statement of her own affirming that the 2020 general election “was not stolen.”
“Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system,” she wrote.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has denied that efforts to remove Cheney from her position as the House’s third-ranking Republican are in any way related to her vote to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection against Congress.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
