Few, if any, House Republicans provided a more unwavering voice of opposition to former President Donald Trump than former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who suffered a resounding defeat in the 2022 primary race but has remained a virulent anti-Trump mouthpiece after her exit from Congress.
Now, a new report sheds light on Cheney’s apparent role in ensuring evidence that could have supported Trump’s assertion about his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, protest on Capitol Hill was never considered by the Democratic-led House committee on which she was one of just two GOP members.
Specifically, The Federalist reported that a transcripted interview revealed her efforts to suppress evidence that the then-president called for thousands of National Guard troops to maintain order around the Capitol building.
Evidence cited by the outlet included testimony from then-White House Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato, who revealed to Cheney about three weeks after the protest that he heard Mark Meadows, who was chief of staff at the time, tell Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser that she should request as many service members as she needed to address the situation.
Instead of presenting that information during committee hearings, the report continued, “Cheney and her committee falsely claimed they had ‘no evidence’ to support Trump officials’ claims” that the president favored such a deployment.
Reporter Mollie Hemingway went on to assert that the House committee “suppressed the transcript from public view” while using “conspiracy theories” in an apparent effort to diminish Ornato’s credibility.
Sleazy Liz Cheney needs to receive some of the Stalinist medicine she introduced into the body politick against scores of patriotic Americans — that is, she needs to be compelled to testify under oath about, among other things, what knowledge she may have about: possible…
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) March 10, 2024
Furthermore, Cheney claimed in mid-2022 that Chris Miller, who was serving as acting secretary of defense during the Jan. 6 protest, claimed that Trump never requested National Guard troops to be called up in response to the situation.
Miller himself, however, joined former chief of staff Kash Patel to disavow her assessment of his remarks.
“The president was doing exactly what I expect a commander-in-chief to do, any commander-in-chief to do,” Miller said during an interview in reference to Trump’s preparation in the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021. “He was looking at the broad threat against the United States and he brought this up on his own. We did not bring it up.”
