Cheney, the vice chairman of the Jan. 6 House Select Committee investigating the attack, issued a strong and sober closing statement at the end of a nearly three-hour hearing on Capitol Hill. The Republican congresswoman from Wyoming addressed her comments to those skeptical of the commission’s work, which includes many constituents in her own state. “The case against Donald Trump in these hearings is not being made by witnesses who were his political enemies. “It is, instead, a series of confessions from Donald Trump’s own appointees, his friends, his own campaign officials, people who worked for him for years and his family,” Cheney said. U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) delivers a closing statement during a House Select Committee hearing investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol at the Cannon House office building in Washington, DC, on July 21 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) Cheney drew a distinction between Trump and his supporters, noting that many who voted for the former president would defend the country with their lives. “Donald Trump knows that millions of Americans who have supported him will stand up and defend our nation if threatened. They would put their life and liberty on the line to protect her,” he said. But, he said, on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump “turned their love of country into a weapon against Capitol Hill and our Constitution.” Trump is even now “stirring up their patriotism” by continuing to insist that he somehow won the 2020 election, despite the fact that there is no evidence to support his baseless claims, Cheney said. The nine hearings so far, Cheney said, showed that “Donald Trump’s plan to falsely claim victory in 2020, regardless of what the actual facts were, was premeditated.” A video of former President Donald Trump is played on a screen during a Select Committee hearing on the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S., on Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via (Getty Images) Thursday’s hearing showed evidence that Trump did nothing to stop the violence on Jan. 6, that former Vice President Mike Pence called in police and military units to shut down the riot, and that Trump rejected pleas from his family and aides of stopping the mob until he realized the attack would be repulsed by law enforcement. The story continues Cheney closed her remarks by asking Americans to consider the seriousness of allowing Trump to return to office. “Every American should think about this – can a president who is willing to make the choices that Donald Trump made during the violence of January 6th ever be trusted again in any position of power in our great nation?” he said. Cheney faces the possibility of losing her seat in Congress if she loses an Aug. 16 primary back in Wyoming to a Republican challenger who has parroted Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. But her words Thursday showed the determination from her side to continue fighting for the soul of the Republican party. U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) shakes hands with Sandra Garza, partner of slain U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, after a House Select Committee hearing on the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill US at the Cannon House office building in Washington, DC on July 21, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) When Cheney was ousted from her leadership position at the House Republican Conference more than a year ago, she vowed at the time to block Trump’s re-election. “I will do everything in my power to make sure that the former president never gets near the Oval Office again,” Cheney said. If Cheney loses her congressional seat, and even if she wins, she is likely to run for president in 2024 in order to continue to argue that Trump is unfit to lead the GOP, much less the nation, according to talks with Republicans close to the matter. Cheney concluded Thursday’s hearing by making clear that the committee’s work is not done and that there will be more hearings after Labor Day. “Ronald Reagan’s great ally, Margaret Thatcher, said this: ‘Let it never be said that the devotion of those who love freedom is less than the determination of those who would destroy it,’” Cheney said. “Let me assure each of you this: our committee understands the gravity of this moment, the implications for our nation. We still have a lot of work to do and we’ll see you all in September.”
