US President Biden awards presidential medal to Trump critic Liz Cheney
\n Washington
\nPresident Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor in the United States, to 20 individuals in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday.
\nAmong the honorees were members of the House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
\nThe award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to democracy, and this group included activist figures and civil rights leaders.
\nNotably, former Republican Representative Liz Cheney and Democrat Bennie Thompson, who served as the chair and vice-chair of the committee, were recognized for their work in investigating the Capitol attack.
\nIn his remarks, President Biden emphasised the importance of citizenship, quoting the preamble to the US Constitution: \u201cThe most important title in America is not president but citizen. It is \u2018We the people,\u2019\u201d a statement highlighting the nation\u2019s democratic foundation.
\nCheney, who became a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, received praise for prioritizing the American people over party politics. Thompson, too, was acknowledged for his long-standing dedication to safeguarding the US Constitution.
\nThe ceremony\u2019s timing coincided closely with the fourth anniversary of the January 6 events, which saw a violent mob storm the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The attack followed false claims by Trump that he had won the election.
\nOn January 6, 2021, Trump held a rally where he repeated unfounded allegations of voter fraud, encouraging supporters to march to the Capitol.
\nOnce there, rioters clashed with law enforcement, broke into the Capitol building, and halted Congress\u2019s certification of the election results. During the chaos, rioters made threats against Vice President Mike Pence, who was overseeing the certification.
\nIn the aftermath, 1,561 individuals have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot, with 645 receiving prison sentences. Weapons including firearms, tasers, knives, and pepper spray were brought into the Capitol by the rioters.
\nThe U.S. Justice Department has continued its investigation into the events, and Biden previously awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to law enforcement officers and election officials who were targeted in the wake of the attack.
\nThe Congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot was formed to probe the circumstances surrounding the attack, and in its final weeks, it released an 850-page report that recommended criminal charges against Trump.
\nThe report accused him of orchestrating a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results, asserting that \u201cthe central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, whom many others followed.\u201d Cheney, one of only two Republicans on the committee, became a target of fierce criticism from Trump and his supporters for her role in the investigation.
\nCheney and her colleague Adam Kinzinger, both of whom left office after the committee disbanded in 2023, were among the few Republicans to confront Trump directly.
\nCheney, a former representative from Wyoming, has since become a visible critic of Trump, and she continues to speak out against his influence on the Republican Party.
\nIn a December 2023 interview with NPR, Cheney described Trump\u2019s impact on the party as a \u201ccult of personality\u201d and warned of the dangers to US democracy, saying, \u201cHe talks about weaponizing the levers of our government against his political opponents…I think that what it would mean for the republic is that we won\u2019t be a republic anymore.\u201d
\nTrump, in contrast, has accused the January 6 committee of wrongdoing, suggesting without evidence that the committee suppressed or deleted evidence. He referred to the committee members, including Cheney and Thompson, as \u201cpolitical thugs\u201d and called for their prosecution.
\nIn a December 2023 interview on NBC\u2019s Meet the Press, Trump remarked, \u201cHonestly, they should go to jail,\u201d continuing to criticize the investigation as politically motivated.
\nThe ceremony recognizing Cheney and others took place less than three weeks before Trump is set to take office for a second term, following the 2024 presidential election. His return to power has heightened political tensions, with Cheney\u2019s recent comments about Trump and the Republican Party continuing to fuel debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US President Biden awards presidential medal to Trump critic Liz Cheney Washington President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor in the United States, to 20 individuals in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday. Among the honorees were members of the House of Representatives committee that investigated the January […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-453408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n