Will Liz Cheney get what she deserves?

When she was a member of Congress, former Representative Liz Cheney took positions on many issues that I abhorred. I suspect you did, too.

But on the transcendent issue of American democracy and Trump’s culpability in trying to destroy it, she’s been a rare voice of clarity and courage — and continues to be.

Yesterday, Cheney called out Trump’s threat, which he made on “Meet the Press,” to imprison her and other members of the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

She said Trump’s threat was an “assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.” Precisely right.

She went on to say:

“Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power,” she said in a statement. “He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave.
This was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history. Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”

She rejected Trump’s claim that the select committee destroyed evidence during its investigation and his assertion that “for what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”

In fact, the committee released an 800-page report as well as 140 transcripts of testimony and various memos, emails and voice mail messages. The evidence remains online.

Cheney hit back hard:

“Donald Trump knows his claims about the select committee are ridiculous and false, as has been detailed extensively, including by Chairman Thompson. There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting — a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee — and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct.”

Cheney went on to urge special counsel Jack Smith to make public the evidence he and his assistants have gathered in his investigation of Trump’s role in trying to overturn the 2020 election.

“The Justice Department should ensure that all that material is preserved and cannot be destroyed. As much of that information as possible should be disclosed in the special counsel’s upcoming report.”

At a time when most current and former Republican officials are mouthing Trump’s lies or keeping quiet — because they’ve sold their souls to their political ambitions or they’re intimidated by potential violence from Trump and his MAGA thugs — Cheney continues to serve the nation with courage and honor by telling the truth about the despicable traitor who will become president six weeks from now.

She doesn’t need a pardon from Biden because Trump’s claim wouldn’t last an instant in federal court. What she deserves from Biden is a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

NOW READ: Why under no circumstances should Pete Hegseth be entrusted with the U.S. military

Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.