US President Biden awards the Presidential Medal to Trump critic Liz Cheney | Donald Trump news

Outgoing President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the second-highest civilian honor in the United States, to members of a congressional committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

A total of 20 honorees It was identified in A to celebrate At the White House on Thursday.

They included an activist who campaigned to legalize same-sex marriage in the United States, a military doctor who improved trauma care on the battlefield, and a civil rights leader who laid the foundation for desegregation.

“The most important title in America is not the president, but the citizen,” Biden said, quoting the preamble of the US Constitution: “It is We the People.” “These are the words of the rock on which this entire nation was built.”

But two of the former lawmakers honored were explicitly praised for their work on a House committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6 attack.

One of the beneficiaries was the committee’s chairman, Democrat Bennie Thompson of Louisiana. The second was his deputy, a former Republican representative Liz Cheney From Wyoming.

Extended applause welcomed Cheney to the stage at the White House on Thursday, while one announcer praised her for “putting the American people above the party.” Meanwhile, Thompson was hailed for his “lifelong dedication to protecting our Constitution.”

What day is January 6?

Cheney has become a source of political lightning rods since her years on the committee. She is a common target of criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, the de facto leader of the Republican Party.

the January 6 attack This was motivated by Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 presidential election.

That day, Trump held a “Stop the Steal” rally outside the White House, repeating baseless claims of voter fraud.

Thousands of his supporters then traveled several blocks west to the U.S. Capitol, where they attacked law enforcement and stormed the building as Congress was certifying the election results.

Lawmakers were evacuated, and rioters were heard chanting threats such as “Hang Mike Pence,” in reference to US President Donald Trump. Vice President Who was supervising the certification of votes.

As of November 2024, U.S. Department of Justice I mentioned That 1,561 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riots. A total of 645 were sentenced to prison.

The agency noted that firearms, tasers, knives, axes, and pepper spray were among the weapons rioters brought to the Capitol building during the January 6 attack.

Biden did Previously awarded Presidential Citizen’s Medal for Capitol Police officers and election workers who received threats following the 2020 election, including Robbie Freeman And her daughter Drink mousse.

“I was honored to introduce the law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, and the state and local election officials, and elected leaders, who defended the free and fair election of 2020,” Biden said at Thursday’s ceremony.

“Today, we celebrate a new group of Americans who have dedicated their careers to serving our democracy in other essential ways.”

Cheney versus Trump

The medal ceremony was held Thursday just days before the fourth anniversary of the riots — and less than three weeks before Trump himself takes office for a second term. He will be sworn in on January 20.

Trump previously served from 2017 to 2021, when he was succeeded by Biden, the winner of the 2020 race.

In the months following the January 6 riot, the House of Representatives voted to form an independent investigative committee Committee To consider the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The committee was eventually dissolved in 2023 when the House switched from Democratic to Republican leadership. But in its final weeks, the Committee A Damn 850 page report Recommending criminal charges against Trump.

She accused him of a “multi-party conspiracy” to overturn the results of the 2020 elections.

The report said: “The main cause of the events of January 6 was one man, former President Donald Trump, who was followed by many others.” “None of the events of January 6 would have happened without him.”

Cheney was one of only two Republicans on the committee. Both have since left their positions. Cheney lost her party’s primary while fellow Republican Adam Kinzinger did not seek re-election at all.

She and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, have been together ever since Visible critics Trump, even to support His Democratic rival is Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.

In an interview with NPR in December 2023, Cheney accused Trump of turning the Republican Party into a “cult of personality” and called it a threat to American democracy.

“He’s talking about using the tools of our government as a weapon against his political opponents,” Cheney told NPR’s Fresh Air program. “I don’t see it so much through the lens of what it would mean for me personally. But I think what it would mean for the republic is that we won’t be a republic anymore.”

Meanwhile, Trump suggested arresting members of the January 6 Commission. Raising concerns to Political revenge.

“Frankly, they should go to prison,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in December.

He repeatedly accused the committee, without evidence, of deleting or suppressing evidence. “Cheney did something unforgivable, along with Thompson and the people on the unselected committee made up of political thugs and, you know, hacks.”