Representative Liz Cheney (R- WY), who is one of the Republicans that voted to impeach former President Donald Trump during his last impeachment trial, spoke out at a Reagan Institute event on Tuesday to say that the Republican party needs to “make clear that we aren’t the party of white supremacy” in the wake of last month’s Capitol riots.
Cheney Condemns Capitol Riots
“Certainly the potential of a 9/11-style commission, I think that is very important,” Cheney said. “I think there are many aspects of what happened on the 6th and in the days and weeks and months leading up to it that have to be investigated.”
“It’s very important, especially for us as Republicans, to make clear that we aren’t the party of white supremacy,” she added. “You certainly saw anti-Semitism. You saw the symbols of Holocaust denial, for example, at the Capitol that day.”
“You saw a Confederate flag being carried through the Rotunda,” Cheney continued. “And I think we as Republicans, in particular, have a duty and an obligation to stand against that, to stand against insurrection.”
Cheney made it clear that she supports a 9/11-style commission to look into this riot, saying that its mandate should be to take a “clear eyed look” into Trump’s and his allies’ allegations of voter fraud and a “stolen” election.
“The president and many around him pushed this idea that the election had been stolen. And that is a dangerous claim. It wasn’t true,” she said. “There were over 60 court cases where judges, including judges appointed by President Trump and other Republican presidents, looked at the evidence in many cases and said there is not widespread fraud.”
Not stopping there, Cheney added that the commission should look into media organizations that pushed or continue to push the narrative of a fraudulent election, saying they are “contributing to a very dangerous set of circumstances.”
Cheney concluded by saying that this commission should follow the 9/11 commission’s model and have only retired officials serving as members.
“I think there are many aspects to what happened on the sixth and in the days, weeks and months leading up to it that have to be investigated,” Cheney said.
“And I think having a commission with the formality that we saw in the 9/11 Commission, with the bipartisan participation that we saw in the 9/11 Commission, that’s very important,” she concluded.
This piece was written by James Samson on February 24, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
Ash Wednesday 2001 was also in February, just a few months after a close election decided by Bush v. Gore in December of 2000. I was a Catholic graduate theology student at a Methodist institution, in a suburb of Atlanta, filling my car up with gas. The station was literally across the tracks in a poorer part of town where the cheaper gas fit my budget. I had just come from a church that was hard enough to locate in the days before GPS.
Asking for directions to a Catholic church in the south often got me weird looks. And on that night, I had a big smudge on my forehead while I pumped my own gas. The night was dark and I wore a Syriankeffiyeh as a neck scarf against the cold.
When I went to pay, the Arabic employee just sort of stared at me. I was not his usual customer at this late hour in the evening. He didn’t quite know what to make of me. So he gestured with his hands as he fumbled for change. He pointed to my scarf and I said, “My sister in Washington, D.C., gave it to me.” Then he pointed to my head, which is when I realized I still had ashes there. “Why?” he asked. “What does it mean?”
Since it was very cold and we both wanted to get back to our warm places, I fumbled with something quick to say. “It’s Ash Wednesday,” I said. But that didn’t get very far. “I’m Catholic … it’s a religious thing.”
I don't know what that conveyed to him, but that was as far as we got.
Less than a year later, I moved to D.C. to complete my theological training. I began my studies on September 11th. I stopped wearing my keffiyeh not long after when I rode the metro. During my studies, which included interfaith dialogue, I’ve gone back to that moment more than once.
I realize now, the simpler explanation could have been: “I am a sinner entering Lent.”
In the present ...
So here we are in 2021. Ash Wednesday this year falls after the 57-43 vote on Former 45’s second impeachment for the January 6 insurrection (our own self-inflicted 9/11). It also comes after Valentine's Day/Parkland Anniversary and the Super Bowl amid Black History Month to remind us of all the things we can cram into the shortest month. And like everything in 2021, the calendar cycles through a lens of how it’s not 2020, but we’re still not past its shadow either.
I don’t know whether mainstream media will make a big deal of Ash Wednesday with our second Catholic president. I suspect he might go to mass and would most likely have ashes imposed (perhaps placed on his forehead, perhaps sprinkled).
The scripture readings for the day are a bit ironic. They talk about how to not make a show of yourself. For example, if you are fasting, you should still clean yourself up and go about your day. After all, what you are doing isn’t for others to see, but for God to see. At the same time, there is a collective call for a public gathering and display so that everyone in the community understands and commits themselves to this period of reflection and preparation in advance of Easter.
I will leave it to priests’ homilies and secular pundits to apply these things to our everyday lives. I have a habit of wanting to experience things anew, not simply to repeat them. While I enjoy rituals and traditions, I am much more interested in change and transformation. Lent always begins with Ash Wednesday. It’s always 40 days. It always involves fasting, abstinence, and works of charity. It always culminates in Easter and Jesus’ resurrection.
In short, as I used to say when I taught such things in parish ministry, HE always rises. Good for Him. The question is, what happened to us? How have we changed? How do I have a better answer for the stranger who was less concerned about me paying for gas and wanted instead to know more about me and why I was there?
The simplest thing I can say in 2021 is this. “Remember you are dust, and to dust, you shall return.” This is often what is said as the ashes are traced on foreheads in the sign of the cross. After 2020, mortality stares us in the face globally in a remarkable way. It’s the great equalizer. The baseline from which the human spirit arises in solidarity and acknowledgment of our inherent dignity. (Notions of pro-life don’t quite capture that.)
The other thing we Christians try to remember is that someone died for us and that calls us to change our lives radically. I don’t expect non-Christians or secular people to come to that exact same conclusion. But I think we can all look at 2020 or our lives before and acknowledge that sacrifices have been made and that people have died before us. And we owe them something. We need to do something to honor that debt and pay it forward.
We owe Officer Brian Sicknick and two other fallen officers for doing their duty on January 6, alongside the courage of Officer Eugene Goodman, who is still with us.
We owe our investment to better public health and safety for the 2.4M dead worldwide and 450K+ in the USA from COVID-19.
We owe our continued commitment to social justice in the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Lewis.
We owe it to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, among so many other lives that matter to work for systematic change.
The list could and does go on. We all know loss of one kind or another. We all find hope somewhere that this is not the end for us. We have to be prepared. We have to get ready. Are 40 days enough? Are Biden’s first 100? Be resolved, we know what it has cost.
Somebody died for you. Make your life count for them.
Postscript ...
My first protest of the Trump era: Neighbors protesting the Muslim Ban Feb. 7, 2017, stand in solidarity outside ADAMS center in Sterling, Virginia, near Dulles airport, while Muslims come to pray.
I spent time with many Muslims in Atlanta aside from that gas attendant. Hassan was the chief of security at the museum where we both worked. He was a high-level engineer from Iraq, but this was the only job he could get in the states, perhaps because of his background as a soldier. I remember calling him from near the World Trade Center just moments after we first started bombing his country.
“It’s OK,” he said. “He’s a madman.” I also remember his last words to me before I left the area. “When I look at you, I see your keffiyeh and say to myself: There is my friend...”
On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she plans to create an “outside, independent 9/11-type Commission” to investigate January’s Capitol Hill attack.
In her weekly letter to colleagues, Pelosi told her House colleagues that the commission will “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex.”
.@SpeakerPelosi says she will “establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to ‘investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex.’”
Pelosi’s Call For 9-11-Style Commission Comes Two Days After Trump Acquittal
Pelosi added that the query will also delve into anything “relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power.”
This call from the Democrat leader comes only two days after former President Donald Trump being acquitted on impeachment by the U.S. senate.
That vote was 57-43, with seven Republicans voting against Trump and for a conviction.
Democrats can’t seem to give up Trump. Pelosi isn’t the only Democrat calling for an independent commission.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons has signaled support for such an investigation, saying, “There’s still more evidence that the American people need and deserve to hear and a 9/11 commission is a way to make sure that we secure the Capitol going forward.”
Coons added, “And that we lay bare the record of just how responsible and how abjectly violating of his constitutional oath President Trump really was.”
JUST IN: Pelosi calls for a 9/11 commission-style probe of the Jan. 6 insurrection. pic.twitter.com/aEYSRVhZOg
Before Trump was acquitted on Saturday, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republican senators that he too would vote to acquit Trump.
But McConnell also blasted Trump, claiming the former president was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day,” meaning the January 6 Capitol Hill riot.
And while McConnell also argued that the impeachment trial was unconstitutional now that Trump is no longer president, such a high ranking Republican making those comments was easy fodder for the Democrats.
Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean said of McConnell and the Republicans, “It was powerful to hear the 57 guilties and then it was puzzling to hear and see Mitch McConnell stand and say ‘not guilty’ and then, minutes later, stand again and say he was guilty of everything.”
“History will remember that statement of speaking out of two sides of his mouth,” Dean added.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reminded followers in a tweet on Monday that in addition to Pelosi’s commission, other happenings regarding Trump will make sure we “learn a lot more” about the final days of his administration.
In other words, the media will not give up their addiction to all things Trump.
The Trump trial is over but local, state & federal investigations continue. There might be a 9/11-type commission. News organizations continue to investigate. And @realBobWoodward is working on a book on Trump’s final days in office. Bottom line: we are going to learn a lot more.
CNN’s Blitzer: ‘Bottom line: we are going to learn a lot more’
“The Trump trial is over but local, state & federal investigations continue,” Blitzer tweeted. “There might be a 9/11-type commission.”
“News organizations continue to investigate,” Blitzer continued. “And @realBobWoodward is working on a book on Trump’s final days in office.”
“Bottom line: we are going to learn a lot more,” the CNN host finished.
Donald Trump might be gone from the White House but don’t expect the Democrats or their media spokespeople to stopped being obsessed with him anytime soon.
Representative Adam Schiff put the blame for coronavirus deaths squarely on the fact that President Donald Trump was not impeached back in January.
Schiff: ‘Little Did We Know How Great The Casualties’ Of Impeachment Failure Would Be
Sparked off by a comment from MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell, Schiff went on an insane diatribe linking the casualties of coronavirus to the failed impeachment.
“We can’t act even slightly surprised by this because you told us this was going to happen in your argument in the Senate impeachment trial,” O’Donnell put to Schiff.
“Well, we certainly told the senators that he was not going to change, and there was no way to constrain him. That he is who he is, and he would continue to operate the way he had, and indeed, that’s exactly what we’ve seen since,” Schiff replied. “The one thing we dramatically understated is when we asked the question, ‘If you found him guilty, do you really need to remove him given there is another election only nine months away, how much damage could he really do?'”
“We said a lot, but little did we know just how great the casualties would be. Some days we lose the equivalent of the number of people we lost on 9/11,” Schiff claimed, with clearly no self-reflection. “You know, I think that there is no way we could have foreseen just how tragic his malfeasance would be in his remaining months in the administration.”
UNHINGED: Adam Schiff claims the casualties of coronavirus are casualties of the failed impeachment, implies the failed impeachment was worse than 9/11https://t.co/XMnXzCnIVipic.twitter.com/geRbI1pOdR
The RNC called Schiff’s arguments “unhinged” in their tweet covering his appearance, and I am very much inclined to agree. It’s completely deranged to not only put the blame for deaths from the coronavirus on President Trump, but also in the impeachment itself. Ironically, you can make a far more coherent case that the impeachment debacle actually distracted the attention of the Democrats in Congress from the growing threat of the pandemic back in January!
As Fox News host Sean Hannity pointed out on his March 16th show, Democrats weren’t interested in the coronavirus at all. When the first person with coronavirus entered the country on January 21st, the Democrats were “in the throes of an all-consuming, what has been the culmination of a three-year quest to impeach and throw Donald Trump out of office.” On January 23rd, when China sealed off the Hubei province, House impeachment managers were starting their opening arguments. And on January 31st, when President Trump issued the travel ban to and from China and declared a national health emergency, Democrats, including Schiff, were busy trying to impeach him.
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff vows to conduct a thorough investigation into the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, Schiff (D-CA) vowed to create a “nonpartisan” 9/11-style commission to study why America was “so unprepared” for the crisis.
He joined Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris in submitting an actual bill last week.
Though we are still in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis, over 16,000 Americans have died.
It’s clear we’ll need a bipartisan commission to ensure we’re better prepared for the next pandemic.
Speaking to low-information viewers of the MSNBC show “AM Joy,” Schiff declared that his commission would thoroughly investigate the Trump administration.
“We are diving deeply into what does the intelligence community know, what resources we would bring there, and what do we need to do prospectively to better protect the country in the future,” he announced.
Schiff also inadvertently admitted his investigation would be anything but ‘non-partisan,’ revealing that as the House Intelligence Committee chair he has already committed the ultimate sin of any investigator – drawing a conclusion first.
“It is very important, I think, in reviewing the intelligence component to this to realize the intelligence piece is just one piece of the warnings coming to the administration,” he said.
“A lot of those warnings were in the public domain. They came from public health organizations, like WHO or CDC or his own National Security Council, and ignored those warnings.”
‘Ignored those warnings.’
Schiff is now confessing to be in search of evidence pointing to a conclusion he’s already made. No competent, reasonable, or trusted investigator would ever operate in such a manner.
How is Adam Schiff spending Easter?
He went on MSNBC to announce he is “diving deeply” into what intelligence the Trump White House “ignored”
Based on Schiff’s own commentary, one can only conclude that he is likely the most partisan political hack to ever head the House Intelligence Committee.
He has been a threat to this President from day one.
It was Schiff and his Democrat colleagues who bogged down an entire nation with impeachment dreams while the coronavirus was beginning to flourish, distracting lawmakers in Congress from protecting America.
.@RepAdamSchiff: In terms of forcing the administration to act cohesively, to try to reconcile these three or four or five tasks forces that seem to be at odds with each other… It’s very hard to congressionally mandate competence when the administration is incompetent. #AMJoypic.twitter.com/I5FHg2UxpL
“We have seen Americans unite with incredible selflessness and compassion,” President Trump recently stated. “I want to remind everyone here in our nation’s capital, especially in Congress, that this is not the time for politics, endless partisan investigations.”
Schiff is an embarrassment, yes, but worse, he is an imminent danger to this country.
While the President will be working diligently to revive America from the economic devastation wrought by this pandemic, Democrats will be working feverishly to slow him down yet again.
Make no mistake, Schiff cares more about his political future than he does the well-being of the American people.
Adam Schiff says he will introduce a bill to create a “nonpartisan” 9/11-style commission to study why America was “so unprepared” for the coronavirus pandemic.
Let’s repeat that.
The man who bogged down an entire nation with impeachment dreams while the coronavirus was beginning to flourish, is mobilizing the House Intelligence Committee, which he chairs, to figure out why the country wasn’t necessarily focused on the problem at hand.
Pearl Harbor, 9/11 … Coronavirus
Schiff shared an article from the Washington Post that cited his desire to begin an investigation once the crisis subsides.
“After Pearl Harbor and 9/11, we looked at what went wrong to learn from our mistakes,” Schiff (D-CA) tweeted. “Once we’ve recovered, we need a nonpartisan commission to review our response and how we can better prepare for the next pandemic.”
“I’m working on a bill to do that,” he added.
The Post article goes on to cite positive and negative actions taken by the Trump administration, leaving little doubt as to who Schiff is actually going after.
After Pearl Harbor and 9/11, we looked at what went wrong to learn from our mistakes.
Once we’ve recovered, we need a nonpartisan commission to review our response and how we can better prepare for the next pandemic.
Further proof that Schiff is focused not on “our mistakes” but the supposed mistakes made by President Trump himself are comments the impeachment manager made the night before.
In an appearance on MSNBC, Schiff said those blaming his impeachment sham for distracting the country were inadvertently admitting that “the administration screwed up this response.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed the highly partisan effort for distracting lawmakers when coronavirus was.
“It came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial,” McConnell asserted. “And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment.”
Rep. @AdamSchiff wants a congressional committee to investigate federal response to coronavirus. @RepDougCollins: “You know, for him to come back at this point and try to regain the spotlight from his failed attempts at impeachment is just sad for the American people.” pic.twitter.com/zt6S4ntk1u
“Yeah, the president said something similar, which, you know, was an interesting acknowledgment that the administration screwed up this response,” Schiff claimed without evidence.
“The facts are quite clear that the president’s weeks long, maybe months-long delay in taking this seriously has had catastrophic consequences that we are only now beginning to see the scope of.”
