Efforts to play down Jan. 6 insurrection 'indefensible,' Cheney says

Efforts to play down Jan. 6 insurrection ‘indefensible,’ Cheney says

May 16, 2021

Rep. Liz Cheney said in an interview that aired Sunday that attempts to alter perceptions of what occurred Jan. 6 at the Capitol are "indefensible."

"The notion that this was somehow a tourist event is disgraceful and despicable," Cheney said in an interview on ABC’s "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" with Jonathan Karl. "And, you know, I won’t be part of whitewashing what happened on Jan. 6. Nobody should be part of it. And people ought to be held accountable."

Cheney was responding to comments last week from House Republicans, including Andrew Clyde (Ga.) and Louie Gohmert (Texas), that the breaching of the Capitol on Jan. 6 posed no real threat.

Clyde, for one, said: “If you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.” Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar said: "The DOJ is harassing, harassing peaceful patriots across the country."

Cheney, who was ousted last week from her leadership position within the House GOP for her refusal to subscribe to election-related conspiracy theories, pushed back on these revisionist description of the Jan. 6 riot.

"It’s indefensible," she said. "I will never forget seeing the law enforcement officers, the members of the SWAT team, the rapid response forces, seeing them and their exhaustion. And they had been through hand-to-hand combat and — and, you know, people died. "

Speaking on CNN’s "State of the Union," Rep. Fred Upton also pushed back on what he called the "absolutely bogus" revisionism about Jan. 6.

"I saw the gallows that were constructed on the East Front of the Capitol," Upton (R-Mich.) said. "I have talked — one of the police officers, Capitol Hill police officers, is from my hometown. I spent some time with him. It was chilling, what happened, absolutely chilling."

Cheney also looked ahead, saying she disagreed with fellow House Republican Jim Jordan (Ohio) that former President Donald Trump was a sure thing to win back the presidency in 2024 if he runs.

"I think Jim’s wrong," Cheney said. "It’s not the first time Jim has been wrong, and I’m sure it won’t be the last time. But he is wrong. And I think there are millions and millions of Republicans who won’t let that happen again."

She added about Trump: "I will do everything that I can to make sure he’s not the nominee and, you know, everything necessary to make sure that he never gets anywhere close to the Oval Office again."

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