Hours after the Jan. 6 House select committee held its first public hearing, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) on Tuesday called out Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for falsely suggesting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) bears responsibility for the deadly Capitol insurrection.
Appearing on CNN, Cheney was asked to respond to Stefanik’s remarks during a press conference that House Republicans held prior to the House select committee’s hearing, which featured emotional testimony from Capitol and DC Metropolitan police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Stefanik — who replaced Cheney as the No. 3 Republican after the Wyoming Republican was ousted for her vocal criticism of former President Trump and refusal to push the Big Lie — painted Pelosi as the person responsible for the Capitol insurrection rather than Trump, who urged his supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn the election results during a “Stop the Steal” rally hours before the attack.
Cheney first stressed that the House select committee will investigate “every aspect of what happened” on Jan. 6.
“The planning, the financing, the preparation, the motivation, what was happening that day in the White House, what was happening here at the Capitol, the security breaches of the Capitol,” Cheney said. “So for anybody to suggest that we aren’t going to be conducting a complete investigation is wrong.”
Cheney then said that she would be “deeply ashamed” of herself if she blamed Pelosi for the Capitol insurrection like Stefanik did.
“What happened is absolutely clear, as we heard this morning, just intolerable cruelty,” Cheney said, referring to testimony from Capitol and DC police officers. “A mob that was assembled by President Trump, was provoked by him, he lit the flame for what happened. We’ve seen that not just on the speech on the Ellipse, but throughout.”
Cheney reiterated that for anybody to suggest that the former president wasn’t responsible for the Capitol attack is “shameful.”
Cheney’s remarks come after Republican lawmakers’ repeated attempts at counter programming the House select committee’s first public hearing on the events of Jan. 6.
Shortly before the hearing got underway, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Stefanik and fellow Republicans held a press conference that attempted to shift blame for the insurrection to Pelosi.
After the House select committee wrapped up its first hearing on Tuesday, a separate press conference was held by Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Bob Good (R-VA) outside the Justice Department to call out the treatment of jailed insurrectionists, whom they deem “political prisoners.”
The post-hearing GOP press conference abruptly ended when the Republican lawmakers were rushed out after protesters who held signs that read, “traitors and rapists sit down” and “pedophiles for Trump” made clear they weren’t going anywhere.
Watch Cheney’s remarks below:
GOP Rep. Liz Cheney says Rep. Elise Stefanik should be ashamed for blaming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Cheney says the mob was "provoked" by Pres. Trump. "For anybody to be suggesting that somehow he wasn't responsible, I just think it's shameful." pic.twitter.com/B04EqBMD3E
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) July 27, 2021
