Republican Liz Cheney slams Kevin McCarthy for thinking the riot committee is a 'political game' and calls out people who don't think Trump 'lit the flame' on January 6
Liz Cheney slammed House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for his views on the committee investigating the January 6th MAGA riot on Capitol Hill, saying their investigation was not a 'political game.'
She also had harsh words for former President Donald Trump, saying he 'lit the flame' for what happened on the day of the riot, when thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol to interrupt the certification of Joe Biden's presidential win.
Cheney has become an outspoken critic of both men in her party. She was one of 10 House Republicans to vote for Trump's second impeachment - for his role in inciting the insurrection - and lost her position on the House GOP leadership team because of it.
But both men have been just as critical of her.
Trump, in particular, has gone after her publicly. He's also meeting this week in Bedminister with candidates looking to replace her in her Wyoming House seat. He has vowed to endorse one of her opponents in next year's Republican primary.
Liz Cheney slammed House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for his views on the committee investigating the January 6th MAGA riot and said Donald Trump 'lit the flames' that day
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has become a critic of the panel investigating the January 6 riot, calling it a 'sham'
McCarthy, meanwhile, has become a top critic of the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th. He withdrew his nominees to serve on the panel after Speaker Nancy Pelosi spiked two of his picks - Reps. Jim Banks and Jim Jordan - citing the 'integrity' of the investigation. Both men are ardent Trump supporters who supported his false claim he won the election.
Cheney, in an interview with CNN, said McCarthy 'is continuing to demonstrate that he views this as some sort of a political game. It's not a game, and it's deadly serious when you're taking action to try to divert attention away and distract from an investigation like this one.'
Trump, she noted, 'lit the flame for what happened. We've seen that not just in the speech on the Ellipse, but throughout. What this committee needs to understand is exactly what the details were of the planning and the financing. But for anybody to be suggesting that somehow he wasn't responsible, I think it's shameful.'
The former president has denied any role in the insurrection. The Senate acquitted him during his second impeachment trial.
McCarthy denounced Cheney and GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger after Pelosi named them to the investigatory panel. By putting them on the committee, she can tout its work as bipartisan. The two are some of Trump's harshest critics.
McCarthy dubbed Cheney and Kinzinger as 'Pelosi Republicans.'
And he answered 'we'll see' when asked Monday if he would punish the two for joining the panel. Some conservative Republicans have pushed him to do so.
Cheney responded McCarthy was being 'childish.'
US Capitol Police sergeant Aquilino Gonell; Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone; US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges stand together following their testimony to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol
Donald Trump speaks to his supporters outside the White House on the morning of January 6th; he has denied any responsibility for the insurrection
In her opening statement during Tuesday's hearing on January 6th, Cheney called on those officials who served in Trump's White House with knowledge of the day to step forward and testify.
'We must know what happened here at the Capitol. We must also know what happened every minute of that day in the White House - every phone call every conversation every meeting, leading up to during an after the attack. Honorable men and women have an obligation to step forward,' she said.
She called January 6th a 'cancer' on the Constitution.
'If those responsible are not held accountable and if Congress does not act responsibly, this will remain a cancer on our constitutional republic, undermining the peaceful transfer of power at the heart of our democratic system. We will face the threat of more violence in the months to come and another January 6 every four years,' she said.
McCarthy, meanwhile, called the committee a sham whose outcome is predetermined.
'Speaker Pelosi will only pick on people on the committee that will ask the questions she wants asked - that becomes a failed committee and a failed report, a sham that no one can believe. If you want to do answers, do not be afraid of the questions that will get asked,' McCarthy said a press conference with Republican leaders on Tuesday morning before the committee met.