Former Rep. Liz Cheney is hitting back at Donald Trump after his fiery comments about the Jan. 6 riots and the investigation into them. Trump made these remarks during a speech to his supporters in Emancipation Hall, shortly after his inauguration.
Trump, speaking off the cuff to the crowd that couldn’t attend his Capitol Rotunda speech, claimed he had a lot to say, but was told to hold back. One of the things he said he wanted to talk about? The “J6 hostages”—referring to the rioters involved in the Capitol attack, some of whom he has promised to pardon or have their sentences reduced. He went on to assure his supporters that “action” was coming on that front.
But he didn’t stop there. Trump took aim at Joe Biden’s recent pardons, and even took a jab at Cheney, calling her a “disaster” and a “crying lunatic” for her role as chair of the Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. According to Trump, Cheney and others worked to “destroy” the evidence against him, claiming it was all false.
Cheney didn’t let Trump’s remarks slide. She took to social media, firing back, “Trump’s remarks today were a reminder that neither lies nor the liar who tells them get better with age.” She reminded the public that the Select Committee’s evidence is widely available and that Trump, as a criminal defendant, had access to all the transcripts for years. Cheney also didn’t hold back on calling out Trump’s inaction during the Capitol attack: “He sat in his dining room watching on television as his supporters attacked our Capitol and brutally assaulted law enforcement. For hours, he refused to instruct the mob to leave.”
No matter what Trump says, Cheney is clear: The truth is out there, and it won’t change.
