Snapshot: Liz Cheney Is Not Backing Down

The former congresswoman fearlessly opposes Trump's latest threat to put her in jail

Liz Cheney speaking out in October—and now. (Photo by Sarah Rice via Getty Images)

Some confrontations involving Donald Trump are dispiriting because they highlight this vengeful man’s desire to inflict personal pain and cause damage to our country. That’s certainly true with his assertion on “Meet the Press” that he wishes members of the January 6 House select committee be imprisoned—“For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail”—never mind that he had no specific crime to charge them.

But the response by former congresswomen and Jan. 6 committee co-chair Liz Cheney deserves attention because the clarity of her pushback is a bracing reminder that this insurrectionist will face capable opponents who won’t buckle under to his ugly efforts to intimidate, stoke fear and ruin lives. Cheney called Trump’s new attack on her and fellow committee members who investigated the attack on our Capitol an “assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”

In a statement, Cheney reminded what Trump did on that tragic day, saying Trump engaged in “the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history.” In short: “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.”

As for his threats about jail, she said, “Donald Trump knows his claims about the select committee are ridiculous and false…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.”

While Trump has falsely claimed that the committee “deleted and destroyed all evidence” during its investigation, the fact is that the committee released a highly detailed 800-page report and published all of its evidence online. That includes 140 transcripts of testimony plus a wide variety of memos, emails and voice messages. Don’t doubt that Trump will do everything he can to expunge that record when he gets back into the White House.

In less than a month, the nation will experience the 4th anniversary of that heinous day in American history. Thankfully, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will still be in office to once again set the record straight—before Trump abuses the pardon power and pursues his pledge to release convicted felons now serving in prison for their role on Jan. 6. I dread the lies that will accompany such actions.

Trump’s election victory provides him the platform over the next four years to try and rewrite the violent truth of that day. You can be sure that he believes weaponizing the Justice Department to attack Jan. 6 truth-tellers is righteous. That’s why the continuing and fearless opposition of Liz Cheney and others—including, I hope, Vice President Kamala Harris—will be so crucial for justice, the truth and our collective future.

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