Cheney says full Jan. 6 probe needed to remove ‘cancer’ from republic

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) warned at the start of Tuesday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing that a “cancer” will remain in America unless everyone involved in the planning of the Capitol attack is called to testify and held accountable.

If they don’t cooperate, the committee should “promptly” subpoena them, she said.

The opening statement from Cheney, one of two Republicans picked by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to serve on the special panel investigating the Jan. 6 riot, was aimed at not only the pro-Trump mob that invaded the Capitol that day but also Trump allies like Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who spoke to former President Trump as the siege was underway and have defended his actions egging on his supporters.

“The American people deserve the full and open testimony of every person with knowledge of the planning and preparation for January 6th. … 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 and after the attack. Honorable men and women have an obligation to step forward,” Cheney said in her statement.

“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 democracy system.” — Liz Cheney pic.twitter.com/D8LBl64yn3

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 27, 2021

“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,” she said.

Most Republicans want to move on from Jan. 6, and McCarthy and other GOP leaders held a news conference earlier Tuesday trying to cast blame on Pelosi for the security breach. But Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), the two Republicans on the special panel, have insisted that the violent insurrection of Jan. 6, and its causes, must be fully investigated.    

“We must issue and enforce subpoenas promptly. We must get to the objective truth,” Cheney said. “We must overcome the many efforts we are already seeing to cover up and obscure the facts.”