Cheney, a dynastic figure once held in Parliament by her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, used her top seat on the Jan. 6 jury to accuse Trump of abusing the presidency to orchestrate more than one attempt. coup – explosive accusations that strengthened its status as Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of MAGA loyalists.
The much-anticipated hearing further complicated Cheney’s path to re-election in deep red Wyoming, a Trump stronghold where his main opponent has the active support of the 45th president, who is actively stumbling against the rebel establishment.
But as Cheney’s attacks on Trump only get louder, it is becoming increasingly clear that he is motivated by something other than securing her future in the lower room. Whether this is a self-sacrificing desire to save the country’s democratic traditions from the former president or a selfish attempt to promote its fame and political power depends largely on the point of view of its admirers and critics.
What is not disputed is that Cheney has bet her legacy on her relentless anti-Trump activism – a rumor that will only deepen as the jury raises its findings in a long series of public hearings that will dominate the for the rest of the month.
“President Trump called the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack,” Cheney, the vice-chairwoman of the select committee, said during a first-hour hearing on Thursday night.
To like-minded Trump critics, Cheney is a huge asset to the investigation, offering the commission not only a good deal of bipartisan legitimacy, but also an experienced legal mind that knows the details of the GOP conference and its complex dealings with the former chairman.
“She’s an awesome lawyer,… [and] “She was the chair of the House of Representatives Republican Conference,” said MP Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a former professor of constitutional law who also serves on the research committee. “So he obviously knows the ground better than anyone else on the committee.”
To Trump’s allies inside and outside the Capitol, however, Cheney is merely a traitor to the party – a “Republican Pelosi” who has been completely disowned as Republican leaders try to exploit Trump’s popularity in an effort to oust him. parliamentary scrutiny in November. by-elections.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Who wants to take the floor next year, said this week that the responsibility for January 6 lies with “everyone in the country.”
In a sense, Cheney is unlikely to take on the role of Republican iconoclast. Her family is one of the most powerful Republican dynasties of the last half century, and her father’s unique conservatism – combined with his apology for gaining power – has made him a Republican favorite.
Similarly, Liz Cheney’s ardent conservative stances – including strong attacks on gay marriage during an early campaign – hurt her in the eyes of Democrats nationally, but helped push her to the top as soon as she reached the top. Capitol in 2017.
In another sense, however, Cheney is the natural fit to play Trump’s foil.
Trump had devoted much of his successful campaign in 2016 to fighting the Bush-Cheney administration’s overseas involvement, most notably the 2003 decision to start the war in Iraq, which was backed by senior Cheney. After taking over the White House, Trump continued those attacks on the old Republican Guard that had promoted an aggressive interventionist foreign policy, a group that included both Cheneys.
Although Cheney had opposed Trump’s first referral, she was furious with the actions surrounding the Capitol attack, where a violent mob of Trump supporters tried to reverse his election defeat. More than 150 police officers were injured in the blast.
Cheney was one of only 10 Republicans to support Trump’s ouster after the uprising and began investigating the tragedy. On Thursday, he used the television listening platform to warn those Republicans who continue to support Trump that history will not treat them kindly.
“I say this tonight to my Republican colleagues who are defending the defenseless: One day Donald Trump will leave, but your dishonesty will remain,” he said.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
“It is important, because, as he said, these are not political parties or your political views. “It has to do with discovering the truth,” said a U.S. Capitol police officer. said Aquilino Gonell after the hearing. “And from what the committee presented today, it seems that much more needs to be done.”
But Cheney’s impudence came at a political cost.
Last year, after Cheney refused to stop criticizing Trump for his role in the Capitol uprising, the GOP voted overwhelmingly in favor of ousting the leadership, replacing him with a Trump ally, MP Elise Stefanik (RN.Y. .), which has embraced the former president’s lies about stolen elections.
Most recently, the Republican National Committee voted to convict Cheney — along with the only other Republican on the select committee, MP Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) – for their willingness to join the Democrats in the Jan. 6 poll. This decision, the Republican National Committee accused, “was disastrous for the institution of the US House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our democracy.”
In the wake of Thursday’s panel hearing, attacks on Cheney by Trump’s allies have only intensified. During the hearing, Tucker Carlson, a highly regarded Fox News expert, described Cheney as “the lady of the Iraq War” who is now “lecturing us on honor and truth.”
Carlson’s guest was Joe Kent, a Trump supporter from the state of Washington, who has launched a major challenge against spokesman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), Who also backed Trump’s second referral. He also had some sharp words for the Wyoming Republican.
“It’s absolutely absurd and offensive,” Kent said of Cheney’s attacks on Trump’s supporters. “She thinks we can not go back and see her record of lying to the American people for basically her entire career and taking advantage of it, but she also has to show it all, ‘Oh, it must be a big Trump thing.’ .
Kent said the Capitol rioters were in Washington on Jan. 6, not because of what Trump did or said, but because “the vast majority” of Americans “did not feel their voices were heard at the polls, so things started.” to go. a little hard “.
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In the face of such attacks, Cheney has found a new group of allies: the Democrats, who have always opposed her conservative policies but are now being hailed as facing a common opponent with Trump.
“Liz Cheney and I do not agree on almost 80 percent of the issues that arise, give or take 10 points,” House Speaker Majority Leader Stephen Hoyer (D-Md.) Told reporters this week. “But what he claims is the truth.”
“That’s why he was ousted as leader of the Republican Party,” he said. “Because the Republican Party did not want to hear the truth.”
