Rep. Liz Cheney said Sunday that Donald Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol siege amounted to a “supreme dereliction of duty,” and that the House committee investigating the insurrection may recommend “enhanced criminal penalties” for officials who failed to carry out their duties.
In an interview Sunday with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” the Wyoming Republican said the select committee will also reveal new information that it discovered about the insurrection and the Trump administration’s response.
““We’re looking at things like, do we need additional enhanced criminal penalties for the kind of supreme dereliction of duty that you saw with President Trump when he refused to tell the mob to go home after he had provoked that attack on the Capitol.””
“There will be legislative recommendations and there certainly will be new information.” coming from the nine-member House panel, Cheney said. The committee is expected to hold public hearings later this spring.
Cheney was one of only 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 violence. One of the others who did so is Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who is also on the House Jan. 6 committee. Both have faced harsh criticism from the GOP and were censured for not supporting Trump.
Cheney told NBC News she did not regret her vote to impeach.
“I have not learned a single thing since I have been on this committee that has made me less concerned or less worried about the gravity of the situation and the actions that President Trump took and also refused to take when the attack was underway,” she said.