Cheney: Jan. 6 investigation is about ‘fidelity’ to the Constitution 

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) repeated what she characterized as her commitment to the Constitution and defended the actions of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack less than one week after she was censured by the Republican National Committee (RNC).  

In an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal, Cheney, a frequent and ardent critic of former President Trump, stated that the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation is not only about the violence committed on the day, but also a duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution.  

“The Jan. 6 investigation isn’t only about the inexcusable violence of that day: It is also about fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law, and whether elected representatives believe in those things or not,” Cheney wrote.

“Those who do not wish the truth of Jan. 6 to come out have predictably resorted to attacking the process—claiming it is tainted and political.”  

The conservative and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney added that the committee is focused on “facts,” not “rhetoric,” and the committee will present these facts “without exaggeration, no matter what criticism they face.”  

The fiery rebuke from Cheney comes after the RNC last week voted to censure Cheney and her fellow Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) over their participation on the House committee.  

The resolution that censured the lawmakers stated that the two are participating in the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse,” adding that the RNC “shall immediately cease any and all support of” them “as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference.” 

At the time, Cheney responded to the censure stating that she did not recognize those in her party that had “abandoned the Constitution to embrace Donald Trump.”  

The Wyoming Republican sounded a similar note in her op-ed on Thursday, writing that, “Republicans used to advocate fidelity to the rule of law and the plain text of the Constitution,” but arguing that, in 2020, Trump convinced members of the GOP to abandon those principles.  

The former president and his allies on and off of Capitol Hill have repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the 2020 election was tainted by widespread voter fraud. However, these claims have been refuted by federal and state elections officials several times including by former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr. 

“He falsely claimed that the election was stolen from him because of widespread fraud. While some degree of fraud occurs in every election, there was no evidence of fraud on a scale that could have changed this one,” Cheney continued.  

She said Thursday that the Jan. 6 committee hearings will show that Trump’s claims “provoked the violence on Jan. 6.” 

Cheney herself is fighting to retain her seat in the 2022 election cycle in Wyoming amid her resistance to the former president. Following the riots at the Capitol, Cheney was ousted from her position as House Republican Conference chair for breaking with Trump.