Pal says Liz Cheney planned anti-Trump op-ed by 10 defense secretaries
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) — who is facing possible ouster from her leadership position next week — quietly orchestrated a Washington Post op-ed by 10 living former defense secretaries cautioning that then-President Trump might attempt to politicize the military, according to a report.
Th op-ed, published three days before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, was signed by Trump's former Defense Secretary James Mattis, as well as Cheney's father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and fellow ex-Pentgagon chiefs Ashton Carter, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld.
"'She was the one who generated it, because she was so worried about what Trump might do,' Eric Edelman, a friend of Cheney's and former adviser to her father, told the New Yorker. "It speaks to the degree that she was concerned about the threat to our democracy that Trump represented."
7Cheney has hammered Trump over his claims of election fraud. Corbis via Getty Images
The joint Washington Post opinion piece called for the Trump administration to move forward with a peaceful transfer of power, strongly urging against involving military officials in their efforts to refute the election results
"As senior Defense Department leaders have noted, 'there's no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election,'" the op-ed said.
7Mark Esper was Defense Secretary from 2019-2020. Alex Brandon, File/AP
"Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory. Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.
The Wyoming Republican — who has repeatedly hammered Trump for his claims he won the 2020 election — also circulated a 21-page memo ahead of the certification of the election urging colleagues not to challenge the results, the magazine reports.
"Such objections set an exceptionally dangerous precedent, threatening to steal states' explicit constitutional responsibility for choosing the President and bestowing it instead on Congress. This is directly at odds with the Constitution's clear text and our core beliefs as Republicans," the memo said
7Former Vice President Dick Cheney was among those who put his name on the Op-Ed. Kamran Jebreili/AP
But despite her calls, 147 congressional Republicans — 138 in the House and seven in the Senate— objected to the certification of at least one state.
The news of her efforts on the op-ed comes just days ahead of the House Republican conference's vote to remove her from her post with conservatives alleging her "Never Trump" hinders her ability to message for the conference.
And it could well be the final nail in her coffin, politically, as the GOP appears set to shift further toward a Trump-led party heading into the 2022 midterm elections.
7Leon Panetta was both Defense Secretary and CIA Director during President Obama's tenure. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, told "Fox News Primetime" Wednesday that "the votes are there" to remove Cheney as House Republican Conference chair.
And Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — the former chair of the moderate Tuesday Group who later because one of Trump's most vocal defenders during the first impeachment proceedings — appears to be the likely successor to Cheney.
Cheney survived a vote to remove her from the leadership back in February, shortly after her decision to vote in favor of impeaching the president for inciting the riot at the Capitol, which resulted in multiple fatalities.
7House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney quietly orchestrated a Washington Post op-ed by 10 living former defense secretaries cautioning former-President Donald Trump, according to a report. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
While she overwhelmingly prevailed in the first vote, GOP lawmakers said the climate has shifted, with a sizable number of her House colleagues voicing grievances about her continued rebukes of Trump, with her critics alleging it is hindering her ability to lead their messaging efforts.
Cheney's ouster has the support of other members of the leadership team, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, the latter of which endorsed Stefanik shortly after Trump this week.
7Mattis served as one of Trump's defense secretaries. Getty Images
The House Republican conference is expected to hold the vote on May 12.
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Here is another stunt she pulled!
yeah, that country before party bullshit doesn't fly in magaland...
Democrats are nothing but party before country.
Cheney wasn't putting country before party. She was fighting to keep the Cheney brand firmly in charge of the Republican Establishment. Like any self serving POS politician she was willing to do whatever it took to keep herself firmly in control.
Republicans are well rid of her and her father.
meh, you'll vote for her a few years from now, when you're told to...
>poof<
The past SecDef's are big boys, they don't sign just anything.
I have no proof, but I believe that the Army staff was slow to send National Guard troops to the Capital, from a fear that Trump would try to control them and have them take the Capital.
Odd, that Liz could pressure TEN former SecDef's into signing off on such a serious accusation....
OpEd by By Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld
January 3, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. EST
It include no accusation, at least no direct one. It called upon "Acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller and his subordinates — political appointees, officers and civil servants — are each bound by oath, law and precedent to facilitate the entry into office of the incoming administration, and to do so wholeheartedly. They must also refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team.
Not odd at all, liars will lie to promote an agenda.
Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say - POLITICO
So, Liz was able to convince TEN former defense secretary's to "lie'' for her ...?
She's a real piker, isn't she?
Even Joe Biden managed to get 50 former intelligence experts to lie for him!
What the former 'president' did - after inciting for months - on 1/6 was 'dangerous and unlawful and unconstitutional' and it continues to this day
It is no secret that Rep Cheney is an opponent of Trump, and no one should be shocked that she would work to discredit him, I am certainly not. Additionally, what is it that people think she did wrong by organizing these Secretaries of Defense to do an OpEd? No one has to agree with the OpEd content, but it seemed to be the opinions fo the Secret aries of Defense.
And as they say, all's fair in love and politics - or something like that.
She is standing up for what she believes in - why is that shocking to anyone?
It be really great for OUR COUNTRY, if more could stand up for what is right, don't you think ?
The former 'president' has done much to discredit itself and needs no help whatsoever from Ms. Cheney.