Former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney reemerged on Twitter Thursday afternoon to blast Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Cheney shared a long tweet Greene had made two hours previous, where Greene argued that President Joe Biden’s administration lied when it pledged to not involve the United States in Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Greene had brought up the recent leak of classified documents allegedly made by a 21-year old Air National Guardsman. The documents posted on the internet include details about U.S. spying on Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine and secret assessments of Ukraine’s combat power, as well as intelligence-gathering on America’s allies, including South Korea and Israel, NBC News reported.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene makes clear yet again that she cannot be trusted with America’s national security information and should not have a security clearance of any kind,” Cheney tweeted.
Many, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, described the leak as “a major security breach that cannot be allowed to happen again.” He said the leak of these documents endangers the U.S. Military.
Greene took a different perspective, expressing sympathy for the Guardsman.
“The National Guardsman that released these Pentagon papers is simply blowing the whistle on what is really taking place at the DOD (Department of Defense), yet he’s being treated like a traitor and criminal,” Greene said. “It’s the Biden Admin and the DOD who are acting like criminals.”
The classified leak shows there are at least some military personnel from America attached to the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. A White House official told NewsNation the military presence in Ukraine is providing Embassy security services and accountability for weapons getting sent there.
Biden had previously said on the first day of the Russian invasion there would be no U.S. military boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Greene’s biggest frustration is that the United States is involved in Ukraine and the war without any approval from Congress. The Constitution’s Article I, Section 8 specifically lists the power of Congress “to declare War”. The extent to which this clause limits the president’s ability to use military force without Congress’s affirmative approval is highly contested, but it is universally agreed that a president cannot declare war solely on their own authority.
“But again, the Pentagon has us involved in a war that Congress never voted to approve,” Taylor Greene said.
In a Friday tweet, Greene responded to former Congresswoman Cheney’s point that Greene shouldn’t be trusted with national intelligence.
“Criticism about who can be trusted with national intelligence need to ask themselves that question again,” Greene said. “Who do you trust with critical information that affects the safety of our nation and our very own lives?”
Cheney is hawkish on foreign affairs and has consistently supported America’s intelligence agencies and Ukraine in its war against Russia. Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, was the United States Secretary of Defense.
Sordid Past
Greene and Cheney have held a contentious relationship for the last few years, the two engaging in a number of relatively trivial spats.
Greene has never shied away from espousing conspiracy theories, theorizing in 2018 that California fires may have been started by space lasers to benefit a banking firm with a Jewish name.
In February, Cheney also criticized Greene for saying the country needs a “national divorce” with red states on one side and blue states on the other.
“Our country is governed by the Constitution,” Cheney said. “You swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution.”
“Secession is unconstitutional. No member of Congress should advocate for secession, Marjorie,” Cheney said.
In March 2022, Cheney described Greene as a “useful idiot,” for the Georgia congresswoman’s support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming Ukraine violated peace agreements before the Russian invasion.
Cheney has been keeping a relatively low profile since the November 2022 midterm elections. Her Thursday post was her first since March 28, when she supported Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, who said America needs to spend more time worrying about preventing gun violence in schools rather than banning books.
