Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) responded to President-elect Trump\u2019s threat that he would throw members who sat on the House committee that investigated rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in jail, calling his remarks an \u201cassault on the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power,\u201d Cheney said in a statement provided to The Hill.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave,\u201d Cheney said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation\u2019s history. Donald Trump\u2019s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The New York Times first reported Cheney\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Trump joined \u201cMeet the Press\u201d moderator Kristen Welker for his first sit-down interview since winning the election in November. In the conversation, he indicated he would not explicitly order those he\u2019s appointing to top positions to go after his political enemies, but referenced jailing members who served on the House panel that investigated Jan. 6.<\/p>\n
He called Cheney\u2019s actions \u201cinexcusable\u201d and argued she was behind the entire committee\u2019s operations. Trump said \u201chonestly, they should go to jail,\u201d referring to the panel\u2019s members.<\/p>\n
As Trump prepares to enter the White House again, there\u2019s concern he will use the Justice Department to go after his political rivals, something he spoke about during the campaign as he faced his own criminal charges. He\u2019s also assembling a Cabinet of loyalists, who, unlike his first administration, may not hold him back.<\/p>\n
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), another staunch Trump critic, didn\u2019t seem so worried about Trump\u2019s threat. In an interview Sunday, he said he has \u201cabsolutely no worries\u201d about being jailed by the president-elect.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst off, the executive branch can\u2019t go after the legislative branch because we embarrassed him. That\u2019s not a sin, that\u2019s not against the law,\u201d Kinzinger said, later adding, \u201cSo, look, he\u2019s all butt hurt right now because he was embarrassed. He\u2019s not going to come after us, and I\u2019m not worried about it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Biden is reportedly considering handing out preemptive pardons to some of Trump\u2019s critics, including Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), another Jan. 6 committee member.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) responded to President-elect Trump\u2019s threat that he would throw members who sat on the House committee that investigated rioting at the U.S…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n