Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning

by Liz Cheney

Last week, the U.S. Capitol was attacked by a mob intent on disrupting a Joint Session of Congress and preventing certification of the Electoral College results. Consequently, the US Capitol Police were overrun. Insurrectionists stormed and vandalized the US Capitol, assaulting those who stood in their way and leaving five Americans dead… It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection—both on social media ahead of January 6th, and in his speech that day. By deliberately promoting baseless theories suggesting the election was somehow stolen, the president created a combustible environment of misinformation, disenfranchisement, and division. When this manifested in violent acts on January 6th, he refused to promptly and forcefully call it off, putting countless lives in danger. We take oaths to defend the Constitution because at times, it needs to be defended. Without the peaceful transfer of power and the acknowledgment of election results, we can’t sustain our political system.