Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation” that former President Donald Trump should be “disqualified” from the presidency after he was accused of inciting an insurrection. He expressed his opinion.
A partial transcription follows:
MARGARET BRENNAN: The Supreme Court will take up the Colorado case where the state was trying to remove him from the ballot on grounds of sedition and the 14th Amendment. Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Donald Trump on many charges, but insurrection was not one of them. So do you think the Supreme Court will ultimately disqualify President Trump, given his failure to meet the Justice Department's standards?
CHENEY: Let's see what happens in court. If you look at the work of the Special Committee, we have made criminal referrals regarding the section of the 14th Amendment that talks about providing aid and comfort to insurrection. I certainly believe that Donald Trump's actions have reached that level and that he should be disqualified from holding any future office. It's going on in court. In the meantime, and in any case, we have to prepare to ensure that we can defeat him at the ballot box, and I believe that ultimately we will be able to do that.
BRENNAN: The Supreme Court may ultimately hear the case, but for now the D.C. Circuit is scheduled to hear the issue of the president's immunity from criminal prosecution this Tuesday. Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared on the show last Sunday and said that while no one is immune from prosecution, the president has immunity to carry out his duties. And he said Trump had just given an impassioned speech. As a conservative, what do you think about this and the broader argument that it undermines presidential privilege?
CHENEY: Look, I don't think there's any basis to the claim that the president of the United States has complete immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he takes while in office. And I think the courts will decide that as well. I think it's very important for people watching all of this litigation to realize what Donald Trump is trying to do. He is trying to hide his evidence. He is trying to delay the trial because he doesn't want people to see witnesses testify against him. And we saw again on the news this morning reporting the testimony that Dan Scavino and Pat Cipollone gave, obviously in front of a grand jury, which, you know, , again confirms that what we were able to find with the selection committee confirms that; Donald Trump didn't want to tell people to go home, he didn't want to tell the mob to leave the Capitol, he didn't want to tell the mob to leave the Capitol, he didn't want to tell the mob he saw the attack on TV. And President Trump knows that the witnesses in his trial are not political opponents. He knows they're going to be the people closest to him, the people he appoints, and he doesn't want the American people to see evidence of that before they vote. They have a right to see the evidence before they vote.So I think it's very important that he can't delay the trial.
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