Liz Cheney: ‘Absolutely Clear’ Trump Knew His Actions Were Unlawful

Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that former President Donald Trump knew he was breaking the law in his actions leading to the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.

Cheney said, “We have not made a decision about referrals on the committee. I think it is absolutely the case. It’s absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing, what a number of people around him were doing, that they knew it was unlawful. They did it anyway. I think you certainly saw that in the decision issued by Judge Carter a few weeks ago where he concluded that it was more likely than not that the president of the United States was engaged in criminal activity.”

She continued, “I think what we have seen is a massive and well-organized and well-planned effort that used multiple tools to try to overturn an election. You’ve seen just in the last few days a plea agreement from one of the leaders of the Proud Boys, which lays out in really chilling detail the extent to which violence was planned, the extent to which the message that went out on December 19 about the planning – about the rally in Washington – and don’t forget Donald Trump tweeted out that message, ‘Be there, be wild,’ the day after that message the organization and the planning started, and that they understood, that they knew they were going to attempt to use violence to try to stop the transfer of power. That is the definition of an insurrection, and it is absolutely chilling.”

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