U.S. House Rep. Liz Cheney on Tuesday said she will vote to impeach President Trump.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, said the president incited the mob that stormed the Capitol on Nov. 6 and added the violence and destruction would not have happened without the president’s involvement.
“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” Cheney said. “Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President.”
Cheney further said that the president didn’t got far enough in his efforts to stop the attacks once they began.
“The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” she said.
“I will vote to impeach the President,” Cheney said.
Cheney has been a vocal critic of the president since the attacks occurred. Appearing on FOX News that evening, Cheney squarely blamed the events on President Trump.
“We just had a violent mob assault the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to prevent those from carrying out our Constitutional duty,” Cheney said. “There is no question that the president formed the mob, the president incited the mob, the president addressed the mob. He lit the flame.”
Cheney’s full statement follows:
“On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic.
“Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.
“I will vote to impeach the President.”