Wyoming Republican Representative Liz Cheney accused one of her colleagues of lying after he said Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt was "executed" by Capitol police during the January 6 insurrection.
Fellow GOP Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona demanded to know why the FBI was not releasing the name of the officer who shot Babbitt. Gosar insisted the police officer was "lying in wait" to kill her when Babbitt and other violent insurrectionists tried to break through a pair of closed doors leading to the House Speaker's lobby.
"It's disturbing. The Capitol Police officer that did that shooting appeared to be hiding, lying in wait and then gave no warning before killing her."
This is the second time Gosar has claimed Babbitt was executed during a hearing.
During another hearing in May, Gosar said:
"Do you recall the name of the young lady, a veteran wrapped in an American flag, who was killed in the U.S. Capitol? As the death certificate says, it was a homicide. Who executed Ashli Babbitt?"
The Department of Justice announced in April no charges against the unnamed officer would be pursued.
"The investigation revealed no evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully committed a violation [of federal civil rights statute]."
Cheney, who was also present during the January 6 riots, called Gosar's comments about Capitol police "disgusting and despicable" in a tweet on Wednesday.
"On January 6, as the violent mob advanced on the House chamber, I was standing near him and helped him open his gas mask. The Capitol Police led us to safety. It is disgusting and despicable to see Gosar lie about that day and smear the men and women who defended us."
On January 6, as the violent mob advanced on the House chamber, I was standing near @RepGosar and helped him open his gas mask. The Capitol Police led us to safety. It is disgusting and despicable to see Gosar lie about that day and smear the men and women who defended us.https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1404901405291319310\u00a0\u2026— Liz Cheney (@Liz Cheney) 1623807608
Twitter users chimed in with their own criticisms of Gosar's words and actions.
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it... for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie...\u201d\nHe knows he\u2019s lying.\nHe knows you know & everyone else knows.\nHe\u2019s going to keep lying anyway.\nBecause he needs the lie to take hold.— Jo (@Jo) 1623807909
Some noted Gosar was parroting Russian President Vladimir Putin's own anti-United States rhetoric.
Not to trot out the tired comparison but this does remind of Nazi sympathizers undermining U.S. during #WW2.\n\n...Except I can't imagine their arguments were this stupid.— YangDailyPodcast \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@YangDailyPodcast \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1623803916
I'd love to know why the officers blocking the barricade decided to leave (possibly to be replaced by tactical squad?) but I don't see that the shooter had much in the way of options.\n\nBabbitt did, and chose poorly.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX3BS1eNWR0\u00a0\u2026— YangDailyPodcast \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@YangDailyPodcast \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1623804446
Worth noting that Democrats pushed for a bipartisan, comprehensive investigation of these events and #GOP legislators, with a few exceptions, voted against it.https://twitter.com/YangDailyCast/status/1398514163232636929\u00a0\u2026— YangDailyPodcast \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@YangDailyPodcast \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1623804595
Looks like Shakespeare hit the nail on the head once again. \u201cOh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive.\u201d @gop has tangled itself in knots that may end by hanging them all.— SeezBeez\ud83d\udc1d\ud83c\udf32Maine Voter \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a (@SeezBeez\ud83d\udc1d\ud83c\udf32Maine Voter \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a) 1623812170
Perhaps there should be some legal repercussions for blatant lying in the face of actual events that everyone witnessed in real time and which were recorded.— SFrances (@SFrances) 1623844115
Exactly what I was thinking.— Marilyn in AZ \ud83c\udf35\ud83c\udf0a (@Marilyn in AZ \ud83c\udf35\ud83c\udf0a) 1623818916
Why do they continue to spin and out right lie about things we all saw with our own eyes?— devi nNunes\u2019snotbubble (@devi nNunes\u2019snotbubble) 1623810014
Gosar was also among the 21 Republicans who voted against awarding Congressional Gold Medals to the Capitol police officers who protected them during the riots.
Rioters were responsible for the death of one Capitol police officer and the injuries of dozens of other law enforcement personnel.
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