Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning

These are notes taken while reading former Representative Liz Cheney's book "Oath and Honor", much of the text has been advertised or reflected upon, on television, online, and during many interviews. I attempted to not repeat everything we already know about Liz, the Select Committee & the infamous January 6th.

Part I: The Plot Against America Election Day 2020 to January 5, 2021

Chapter 1: The Only Thing That Matters Is Winning

Two days after the 2020 election, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told me he had talked to Donald Trump. "He knows it's over", McCarthy said. Trump just needed some time to process the loss. "He needs to go through all the stages of grief", McCarthy added.

For Trump, the stages of grief seemed to involve tweeting in all caps. Shortly after 9:00 a.m.: "STOP THE COUNT!" An hour later at 10:09 a.m. "ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!"

Thirty minutes later, Trump retweeted himself: "STOP THE COUNT!" Shortly after noon: "STOP THE FRAUD!"

Donald Trump had been told repeatedly by his top campaign advisers, including on Election Day itself, that early returns on that Election Night showed him leading, at first, but the numbers changes as the absentee votes were counted and then the mail-in votes, which occurred every presidential election. In many states, the Election Day votes are counted first, and many Republicans voted in person, largely due to Trump's advice urging Republicans not to cast absentee and mail-in votes, but to vote in person.

He knew and was well advised there would be a 'red mirage' in which he seemed to be ahead on the onset; and he helped to create it. Despite this he claimed the phenomenon was evidence of major fraud. These assertions continued about nefarious-sounding 'ballot drops' with stories how the ballots magically disappeared as surprise ballot dumps were counted VERY STRANGE... He continued to say falsehoods as his campaign manger, Bill Stephen, told the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, on the United States Capitol. He told us he had personally informed Trump that 'periodic release of ballots would occur'. Trump knew this to be a routine feature of the counting process and now was making it seem criminal.

When McCarthy and I spoke on November 5, we discussed the tally hadn't been finished but most likely would go toward Joe Biden. McCarthy appeared to be dealing in reality, which made the Fox News broadcast stating "Trump won the election'. Every candidate has the right to bring legal challenges in court if they have evidence of fraud or irregularities in an election. But as he filed the challenges, it became clear he was not going to accept the outcome of any legal challenges.

I had been elected two years earlier by my colleagues, to serve as the Chair of the House of Republican Conference, which is the 3rd ranking Republican in the House. My responsibilities included communication and messaging for the Conference, as well as convening the weekly meetings for all House Republican representatives.

Many of these meetings were conducted by phone which often involved a couple hundred participants. This included the Representatives themselves, their staffers and White House off legislative affairs staff. Occasionally we'd ask a guest speaker, including those from the Trump administration, especially if we were presenting a particular topic.

There were times, Kevin McCarthy sometimes had Trump dialed in, secretly listening to our conversations, while Kevin didn't inform everyone on the call of Trump's presence, it was clear by how some, over-praised him, that he was eavesdropping.

Most commented that evening, a strong commendation for the House on Election Night, as the number of wins were being tracked. Not a single member described what had happened in their own districts or states, Trump was already saying the election was stolen, which suggested their own elections had been rigged.

Things got weirder over the weekend, as the former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani had a press conference, at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a small business located between a crematorium and an adult bookstore in a strip mall outside Philadelphia. It was these very moments that the presidential race for Joe Biden - we all believed this would shut Trump down, and a transition period would take place.

But two days later, Trump intervened in the very first steps of the transition by firing Mark Esper, the Secretary of Defense; it seems the Secretary refused to allow the military to contest the outcome of an election. His position wasn't the only one replaced during the lame-duck president's refusal to leave the White House. Chris Miller replaced Esper, and others to assure Miller followed Trump's wishes.

Kash Patel was appointed Miller's Chief of Staff, having been refused for a slew of other positions Trump sought for him, a loyalist. Next was Douglas MacGregor, a retired colonial known for spreading Putin propaganda on American airwaves, was appointed the senior advisor to the secretary of defense. MacGregor failed to meet the requirements for the ambassadorship to Germany. Also named was retired brigadier General Anthony Tata, to be acting undersecretary of defense for Policy; he was unable to win Senate confirmation, but until now Trump didn't need the Senate.

Taken together, these appointments were very troubling, as Trump had lost the election, and why would a lame-duck (former) president be appointing inexperienced loyalists to the most senior civilian positions in the Pentagon, during an ordinary time devoted to exiting peacefully, a transition from one candidate to another?

Chapter 2: Put Up or Shut Up

Chapter 3: Someone Is Going to Get Killed

Chapter 4: The Blood of Patriots & Tyrants

Chapter 5: The Oath

Chapter 6: The Secretaries of Defense

Chapter 7: Just Humor Him

Chapter 8: More Sinister Than I Was Prepared For

Chapter 9: Fake Electors

Chapter 10: Powder Keg

Part II The Attack January 6, 2021

Chapter 11: The Oath Does Not Bend or Yield to Popular Sentiment

Chapter 12: This Is Because of You!

Chapter 13: It Turned Out That Kevin Was Lying

Chapter 14: These Are the Things That Happen

As I was on the air, I stated "What's important is to recognize we have just had a violent mob assault the US Capitol in an attempt to prevent us from carrying out our Constitutional duties." Donald Trump 'lit the flame' of this attack, but he will not prevent us from doing our duty.

Trump was tweeting again, not condemning the violence but justifying it as this is what occurs when a landslide election is stripped away. Remember this day, he told his followers.

The House chamber opened up again around 8:00 p.m. as I recognized Greg Pence, a freshman representative from Indiana and older brother of Vice President Pence. We met in the middle of the chamber, and checked on each other, after our embrace; he stated he'd been with the Vice President all day, and he'd been under great pressure. I expressed my thanks for his brother's loyalty to the Constitution.

As we waited for the House to return to session, my aide and I took a tour of Sanctuary Hall, a room full of the history of our republic. Brass plaques on the floor marked the locations of the desks of presidents who served in the House, including Abraham Lincoln and John Quincy Adams. On that night law enforcement officers in tactical gear were seated on the floor, leaning up against them, exhausted from the battle, they had fought that day to defend the Capitol. As I did, one officer said "It was medieval and bloodthirsty".

I also went to the Senate side of the Capitol to check on my father's statue that outside the Senate chamber, it hadn't been damaged.

Chapter 15: He Was Going to Let the Travesty Go On

Part III A Plague of Cowardice - January 7 to June 30, 2021

Chapter 16: Impeachment and 25th Amendment Are Real

Chapter 17: A Vote of Conscience

Chapter 18: Impeachment

Chapter 19: Trump Lied. People Died.

Chapter 20: Trump's Not Eating

Chapter 21: Removal Liz.com

Chapter 22: They Stared Down at Their Desks

Chapter 23: This Isn't Their Party Anymore

Chapter 24: But What If He Is Our Only Hope?

Chapter 25: That We Love our Country More - Another showdown with the Republicans was inevitable as April turned to May, this was due to the unsuccessful removal of me, from my leadership position. In February, it was possible to envision the Republican Party looking to a post-Trump future, rejecting insurrection, and embracing the Constitution and the truth. But by May that dramatically changed.

To remain in leadership of the Republican House, I'd have to abandon the truth and embrace Trump's ongoing movement to unravel democracy here in the U.S.. And that wasn't a price I was willing to pay.

I did contemplate if I should resign, and sought out advice with colleagues as well as my father. Ultimately, I decided if I was to quit - it'd be too easy for them. They had to work to remove me, because I refused to lie about Trump, and the country needed to see it. The second conference to remove me, met on May 12, 2021 but instead of waiting for that day, the night before I spoke before the chamber of the House. Senator Buck, from Colorado, was kind enough to cede some of his time, allowing me to speak.

Both of my parents had imprinted what America stood for and impressed upon it's citizenship - we were blessed to have freedom. Working for the State Department allows you to see the workings of other countries, their institutions and laws/mores. I have seen firsthand how powerful just how fragile freedom can be. I wanted to impress and convey the urgency of the moment, the threat we were facing, and the solemn obligation we had to put duty above partisanshi

p and the cost of silence.

There were those that prayed and stayed silent, Trump would slither away just as he faded in, but most knew this to be false, and Trump utilized it to empower himself even more. And in my speech, I reminded my colleagues God has blessed America, but our freedom survives only if we protect it, if we honor our oath - taken before God in this chamber - to support and defend the Constitution, if we recognize threats to freedom when they arise."

I described the threat confronting us -one we have never faced before, a former president who provoked a violent attack on the Capitol in order to overturn an election. The aggressive actions he took to spread his lies and to continually distort the truth, inflicted further violence which added to the undermining of our democratic process.

A entity who was willing to do these things was never a man but a creature who could never be trusted with power again. And I pledged that I would not sit back in silence while others led our party down the red velvet carpet to abandon the Rule of law. Everyone of us in the House swore an oath to the Constitution and has a duty to prevent the undoing of our democracy.

Chapter 26: The Inescapable Force of Freedom

Chapter 27: A Personal Favor

Chapter 28: The Power of Propaganda

Chapter 29: Select Committee

Part IV No Half Measures - Summer 2021- Spring 2022

Chapter 30: A Different World

Chapter 31: McCarthy Withdraws His Nominees

Chapter 32: I Was Electrocuted Again and Again and Again

Chapter 33: Hideaway

Chapter 34: Winning in Court

Chapter 35: The Meadows Text Messages

Chapter 36: Presidents Are Not Kings

Chapter 37: Legitimate Political Discourse

Chapter 38: Taking the 5th

Chapter 39: The Illegality of the Plan Was Obvious

Chapter 40: Trump Thought Pence Deserved to Be Hanged

Chapter 41: To the Best of My Recollection, I Don't Recall

Chapter 42: Not the Mastermind

Part V The Relentless March of Evidence - May to December 2022

Chapter 43: Seven-Part Plan

Chapter 44: I Was Slipping in People's Blood

Chapter 45: A Grave Disservice to the Country

Chapter 46: Tantamount to a Revolution

Chapter 47: Conspiracy Theories and Thug Violence

Chapter 48: It May Have Spiraled Us into a Constitutional Crisis

Chapter 49: Hideaway 2.0

Chapter 50: Ketchup on the Wall

Chapter 51: We Did Our Duty and We Stood for Truth

Chapter 52: President Trump is a 76-yr old Man, He Is Not an Impressionable Child

Chapter 53: Freedom Must Not and Will Not Die Here - During World War II, just 15 miles away from Cody, Wyoming the Heart Mountain Relocation Center was located. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US government began forcibly evacuating and detaining individuals of Japanese ancestry. More than 110,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in 10 camps in isolated areas of the country. Heart Mountain as the destination for more than 14,000 of them.

Post the race for my re-election I'd lost but my work to defend our democratic republic was only just beginning. America's democratic system has endured longer than any in history, it can be easy to take it's survival for granted. Our American freedom is precious and rare, and active vigilance is required from all of us to defend it.

Most of world history is a story of violent conflict, of servitude and suffering. Most people in most places have not lived in freedom. Our American freedom is a providential departure from history. We are the exception. We have been given a gift of freedom by God and our founding fathers. It has been said that the long arc of history bends toward justice and freedom. That is true, but only if we make it bend.

Today our highest duty is to bend the arc of history to preserve our nation and its blessings. To ensure that freedom will not perish, to protect the very foundations of this Constitutional republic. Never in our nation's 246 years have we seen what we saw on January 6. Like so many Americans, I assumed that the violence and the chaos of the day would have prompted a united response, a recognition that this was a line that must never crossed, a tragic chapter in our nation's history to be studied by historians to ensure that it can never happen again. But instead, major elements of the Republican party still profess there was no insurrection and the election was stolen.

If we do not condemn the conspiracies and the lies, if we do not hold those responsible to account, we will be excusing this conduct, and it will become the norm for our elections. Our nation is barreling toward a crisis, lawlessness and violence. No American should support elections deniers for any position of genuine responsibility, where their refusal to follow the rule of law will corrupt our future.

Ladies and gentlemen, freedom must not, cannot, and will not die here. We must be very clear-eyed about the threat we face, and about what is required to defeat it. This is a fight for all of us together. I'm a conservative Republican, and believe deeply in the principles and the ideals on which my party was founded. I love it's history. And I love what our party stood for, But I love my country more.

Chapter 54: You're Welcome, @KariLake

Chapter 55: They Knew

Chapter 56: State of Mind

Chapter 57: Never Again

Chapter 58: Unfit for Any Office