Liz Cheney Praised After Last Jan. 6 Speech: 'Holding Back No Punches'

Liz Cheney's speech during the final public hearing of the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack drew praise on social media.

The committee met for its final televised meeting on Monday afternoon, outlining its findings over the course of its investigation. The committee also voted to refer criminal charges to the Department of Justice (DOJ) based on its findings for several individuals, including former President Donald Trump on several charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to make a false statement, and insurrection.

Cheney, an outgoing Republican representative from Wyoming, drew considerable praised online for her speech during the meeting, in which she excoriated Trump and called him "unfit for any office."

"Every president in our history has defended this orderly transfer of authority—except one," Cheney said. "January 6, 2021, was the first time one American president refused his constitutional duty to transfer power peacefully to the next."

"Cheney is holding back no punches and Trump should be terrified of her," pundit Victor Shi wrote in a tweet following Cheney's address.

"I haven't agreed [with Liz Cheney] on many, or likely any, policy issues, but she has served this country admirably & patriotically on #J6Committee," user Shelley Potter wrote in a tweet. "Eloquent opening statement from her at today's J6C mtg. Now, instead of her, Repubs have the likes of [Marjorie Taylor Greene] & [Lauren Boebert]."

"Liz Cheney will go down in history as one of the last true Republicans, you RINO!" user "Anuthamutha" tweeted in response to a critical tweet from Fox News contributor Leo Terrell.

In her speech, Cheney reiterated past findings of the committee, including details about Trump's inaction at the White House while violence erupted at the Capitol. Cheney referred to this time, in which Trump refused to make any effort to call off his supporters while they raided the U.S. Capitol Building and attacked law enforcement, as "among the most shameful of this committee's findings."

"This was an utter moral failure and a clear dereliction of duty," Cheney said. "Evidence of this can be seen in the testimony of President Trump's own White House counsel, and several other White House witnesses. No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. He is unfit for any office."

Cheney will leave office in January, having lost her primary to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman, who then won the seat in November. Trump targeted numerous Republicans who had been critical of his conduct as president or who voted in favor of impeachment, similarly endorsing primary challengers against them.

"Liz Cheney is a fraud who the people of Wyoming rejected by 40 points," Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington said in a statement to Newsweek. "Her final speech was full of lies, and the only thing people will remember about it is that it was given by a Cheney, a family that has disgraced our great Country."

Update 12/19/22, 6:26 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a comment from Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington.