The televised hearings addressing the violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, were riveting and disturbing.
The House committee has been investigating the attempted act of sedition for more than a year, amassing at minimum 140,000 plus documents and investigating more than 1,000 witnesses. They learned all sorts of appalling facts, including that former President Trump flippantly said his former vice president “deserved” to be hung after hearing rioters were reciting “hang Mike Pence.”
Newly released footage and original testimony nullified the pathetically disingenuous remark made by Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, who equated the behavior of violent insurrectionists to that of a “normal tourist visit.” Several capitol police officers and other witnesses provided testimony to the committee, all of whom were captivating.
Engaging commentary notwithstanding, the highlight of the evening was Liz Cheney. The Republican congresswoman’s performance was nothing short of a tour de force. She put her fellow MAGA Republican counterparts to shame, exposing them for their cowardice and dereliction of duty. Among her most deliberate comments was when Cheney stated, “President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack.”
I am not a political supporter of Cheney. Her politics differ dramatically from mine. Despite her honorable and arguably courageous stance in challenging a sizable segment of her Republican colleagues, the truth is that Cheney is a right of center conservative who overwhelmingly supported much of Trump’s agenda during his presidency. But when it came time to stand up for democracy, she disregarded “party loyalty” and aligned herself with truth. For that, she deserves accolades.
The initial night of the hearings revealed that many of those around the former president were aware that Trump had lost the election. William Barr, Trump’s attorney general, testified that he dismissed the claim that the 2020 election was stolen as “bullshit.” Even Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, concurred.
Notably, “numerous” Republican congressmen, such as Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, frantically sought pardons from Trump for their role in attempting to overturn the election. It goes without saying that people convinced of their innocence don’t seek to be pardoned, and it’s old news now that many Republicans in Congress who knew better perversely embraced Trump’s election lies.
There are a number of historical parallels to draw from as it relates to this horrid event. One is that a large percentage of the anarchists who journeyed to the nation’s capital that day are white supremacists. They were motivated by a desperate man who failed to win re-election and, thus, sought to overthrow the government and dismantle democracy.
Perhaps Cheney’s most iconic statement made during the opening night of the hearings: “I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”
She spoke truth to power here.
Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University.
