Did Liz Cheney Take Revenge on Trump?

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the separation of powers between the three branches of government – Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The U.S. Constitution makes the three branches equal in power and authority. This constitutional fact was created to prevent any of the three branches from being too powerful. The latest news gives us an example of how power becomes corrupted.

Today, the House committee investigating the January 6 assault on the Capitol Building voted unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump. All nine members of the committee signed on to a proposition put forth by Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming). How Trump will respond to such a subpoena is anyone’s guess, but it should create the latest circus show put on by this committee.

According to Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said that the committee convened “as a formal committee business meeting, so that in addition to presenting evidence we can potentially hold a committee vote on further investigative action based on that evidence.” It is interesting that the committee met less than a month prior to the November mid-term election. Fred Lucas had the following takeaways from the meeting. 

1. ‘Testimony Under Oath From Donald John Trump’

Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who will leave Congress in January after her defeat in a GOP primary, asked the committee to subpoena Trump.

“We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion, and every American is entitled to those answers,” Cheney said ahead of the unanimous vote to do so.

“I am offering this resolution that the committee direct the chairman to issue a subpoena for relevant documents and testimony under oath from Donald John Trump in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol,” she said. …

Thompson called for a voice vote following Cheney’s remarks, saying afterward that “in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.” 

After that, seemingly for dramatic effect, Cheney said: “Mr. Chairman, I request a recorded vote.” 

This time, each member voted individually to subpoena Trump, for an official 9-0 tally. 

2. ‘Well in Advance’

Early returns in the 2020 election indicated Trump was well ahead of Democrat challenger Joe Biden in key battleground states, and Trump declared victory in a White House speech before millions of mail-in ballots were counted. 

Committee member Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., argued that it’s not that Trump believed he had won. She said evidence demonstrates that Trump’s victory speech on election night was planned “well in advance” of the election on Nov. 3, 2020….

3. ‘He Knows He Lost’

The committee also tried to make the case that Trump didn’t really believe that the 2020 election was fraudulent and in fact knew that he lost. 

“At times, President Trump acknowledges the reality of his loss,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said. “Although he publicly claimed that he had won the election, privately he admitted that Joe Biden would take over as president.” …

4. RNC Chair on ‘Fake Electors’

“Another key part of the president’s effort was a scheme to assemble fake electors to cast false electoral votes in the states President Trump lost,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a committee member, said. “This was something done not only with the president’s knowledge but also with his direct participation.” …

            No matter what in this three-ring circus of a committee, it should be interesting. At any rate, this is Liz Cheney’s latest attempt to take revenge on Trump.