Republican Rep. Liz Cheney immediately took shots at former President Donald Trump in her opening statement at the House Jan. 6 committee’s prime-time TV hearing on Thursday.
She accused those who participated in the Jan.6, 2021, Capitol riot of being purposely led by Mr. Trump and his false election claims into a frenzied attack on American democracy.
“President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” said Ms. Cheney of Wyoming, who has emerged as the most vocal anti-Trump Republican in Congress.
Ms. Cheney, who serves as the committee’s vice chair, said she believed the riot was a broad and well-organized “conspiracy.”
She also accused Mr. Trump of encouraging rioters to go after his vice president, Mike Pence, alleging that he said they had the right idea and that he “deserves it.”
Ms. Cheney is one of two Republicans serving on the Democrat-led panel investigating the riot. The other is Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
Seven Democrats make up the rest of the committee members. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi is the chairman.
Thursday’s hearing marks the start of a month of public hearings in which the committee plans to reveal the findings of its nearly year-long probe, including videotaped testimony from Trump administration officials such as Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner.
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