Illegitimate, and it is organized to search and destroy political enemies. Republican from california saying i cannot get excited about the Season Finale of the january 6 committ you can watch this program and in its entirety on cspan. Org. We take you live to liz cheney. She is the vice chair of the january 6 committee. She is speaking at the university of entertain this afternoon. Live coverage on cspan. It is my pleasure to welcome the dean of college of arts and letters. She is a word of welcome herself. Welcome. On behalf of the arts and letters, i would like to welcome our visitors, especially liz cheney to notre dame. To our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, also, welcome to this event. Pope paul the sixth urges everyone, especially the educators, especially educators, to quote to do their utmost to form men and women who on the one hand will respect a moral order and be obedient to lawful authority, and on the other hand, be lovers of true freedom. Mend and women men and women who will come to their own decisions in light of the truth, and governed their activities with a sense of responsibility. They strive after what is true and right. Willing always to join in cooperative efforts. The university of notre dame strives to form young women and men with good judgment. Future leaders of our country will act with a sense of responsibility for the common good. Citizens with the courage to pursue the truth. Along the way we do this is by introducing our nations next generation of leaders to our countries current leaders. When professor munoz watched the Constitutional Government, he had in mind events like todays. Earlier today, congresswoman cheney had lunch with a center undergraduate student fellow. I was not able to join them, but im sure whether the students agree or disagree with representative cheneys politics, they profited immensely from the opportunity to talk oneonone with a states woman with the courage to pursue the truth. The pope wrote god is love. There is a just ordering society, at a state that its essential to responsibility of politics. Catholics cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight against justice. I am grateful for the opportunities our faculty students and other Community Members have through the center for the citizenship and Constitutional Government to be a part of the fight for justice. I am grateful to Congress Woman cheney for her Public Service to our nation and the visit to our ladys university. Welcome to all of you, and welcome to congresswoman cheney. [applause] thank you. Today is a busy day for you. Thank you for joining us. As the dean mentioned, we launched the center a year ago, and our mission is to cultivate thoughtful and educated citizens to support scholarship and education concerning the ideas and institutions of Constitutional Government. Never has that mission been more important to our country than right now. We explore fundamental principles and practices of a free society, and our aim is to equip our next generation of leaders to secure our godgiven National Rights to exercise leadership and selfgovernment and to pursue the common good. We do this in a number of ways. The Senate Directs a constitutional study, one of the largest miners in the college of arts and letters. We have a Fellowship Program as mentioned for undergraduate students. We have two dozen fellows. Among the things they do is meet with our visiting guests. We just had lunch with, congresswoman cheney. Many events like todays our lecture series is one of the most interesting and controversial on campus. If you would like to know more about what we are doing, i encourage you to visit our website for students interested in the minor Fellowship Program. Talk to me after our event today. I should mention that our next big event is tim scott from south carolina. You will be here for a public event. Friday, november 4. A few thank yous. Todays lecture is sponsored by the rudy center for the study of american democracy. I am thankful to the director for the board of the rudy center for cosponsoring this event. They are great partners. For anyone who has run anything, you know that events like this are a lot of work. I have a tremendous staff, and i want to take a moment to recognize them. Mary frances and debbie, they do all the work, and i just want you to know how deeply thank all i am to them. [applause] as i said, the center aims to bring the most thoughtful and most consequential leaders to campus. Our students learn the practice of citizenship from leading citizens. Whether you agree or not with the congresswoman on matters of policy or prudence, i think we can all recognize her bold and uncompromising stand for character and its important in our political life. I am thrilled that she is here. I am thrilled that we will raise a tradition of having one of our students introduce that speaker. Im calling henry true. He is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major. He is from kiel hall and not on coincidently from wyoming. [applause] good afternoon. It is my pleasure to introduce our speaker today. My congresswoman, liz cheney. Congresswoman cheney is the lone member of congress for wyoming in the house of representatives. She was elected in 2016 on a platform of storing strength and power in the world and pursuing conservative solutions to create jobs, cut taxes, and expand americas energy, mining and agricultural industries. From 2019 to 2021, she served as the chair of the House Republican conference, the third ranking Republican House of representatives. She sits on the House Armed Services committee and serves as the vice chair of the january 6 committee. Previously, congresswoman cheney served as a deputy harry Deputy Assistant and coordinator for broader middle east and north africa initiatives. A specialist in National Security and foreign policy, she is also a fox news analyst and a coauthor, along with her father, former Vice President dick cheney, of the book exceptional. Her service in the house of representatives will come to an end in january of 2023. As a citizen, i am proud to be represented by congresswoman cheney. She is a leader in the defense of moxie. We are delighted she has joined us for this lecture, and saving democracy by pairing the constitution. Join me in welcoming congresswoman liz cheney. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you to henry. What a great introduction. I appreciate that. Henrys family and my family go back a number of generations, and it is wonderful old to see the next generation of truth and to see you here at notre dame and note the success youre going to have, so thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you to the dean. Also to the professor, and to all of you. Thank you for having me here today. It is a special privilege to be able to be here. At the center for citizenship, and government, it is a tremendous honor to have a chance to talk about both of those things. To talk about what it means to live in the republic. To talk about the responsibilities that we all have did before i was elected to congress, and actually, beginning many years ago, i had an opportunity to work around the world. A number of countries dont know freedom. Countries that are not characterized by democratic forms of government. The way i think about the challenges they face today, it is informed at least partly by those experiences. By the individuals that i have a chance to meet and work with. By seeing and understanding the link through which people will go, the sacrifices they will make, for freedom. For the right to vote. I had the opportunity 30 years ago almost, to be an election observer in northern virginia. We were observing parliamentary elections, and we were bipartisan and we were sent to monitor elections at a schoolhouse. As we arrived, people were lined up to vote. It was our responsibility to make sure the voting was there and secure. After wed been there for a while, troops showed up. Soldiers. They chase people away from the polling place. And we all sort of looked at each other, those of us on the observation team, and we said, we arent going to have very much to report today. Obviously, people are not going to be voting here. Within an hour, of these people being chased from the polling place, by armed men, they start to come back. They started to walk back in to cast their votes. We were stunned and so impressed that they were able and willing to risk their lives for the right to vote. It is an image i have never forgotten. I also had an opportunity to work and russia, in 1992 read in 1993. I worked with a young mayor. His town was working on privatizing their businesses. This was after the soviet union had disintegrated and we were looking as the u. S. Government for someone we could supply for 4 support to help red dust. We are looking for someone we could support. We wanted to provide private enterprise in this town. I listened to him talk about his dream of freedom for his people, and watched over the course of the next couple of decades in russia, and i watched with great heartbreak when he was assassinated by putins a few years ago. He was assassinated because of his dedication to freedom. I also, i worked in poland, and i was there after the wall came down. I studied the story of Pope John Paul ii. What he did, and what he meant, and the power of his message of christianity in helping to break the chains of communist hold on poland. I happened to be in nairobi when he visited. I listened to him speak there. Then, i was with my dad when he was Vice President. We had a nice an audience with the pope. I will never forget, as we were leaving, he grabbed my dads hand and he looked at my dad and he said god bless america. And i think of that often. I think we all can agree that god certainly has blessed america. But i also remember something that the minister said to us. In the weekend after 9 11, my family and i were gathered at camp david. Wed been taken to an undisclosed location, that was camp david, and in the aftermath of the attack, we were at the chapel that sunday morning, in the minister said to us who were gathered, as we were thinking about the challenges we face, we needed to pray as though everything depended upon god. It does. We needed to work as though everything depended upon us because it does. That lesson and that method and that guidance is something that is fitting for all times and certainly for the times we are living in today. I wanted to start today by taking you back to the night of january 6. On that night, the house returns and we were able to come out of where we had been evacuated to return to the florida house, and at around 9 00 that night, when we return to the house chamber, the windows and the doors were broken. The glass was shattered. They had come in to clean the chamber up, but there were still furniture that had been used as a barricade, when the mob was attacking. There were gas masks with classic hoods that had already been put on, and they were spread around the chamber. Before we went into session, i wanted to see what the condition was statuary hall and the rotunda. He walked into statuary hall, and that is the place where the house of representatives met from 1807 until 1857. It was the first place where the house met when the capital was built. It is a very historic place. There are brass plaques on the floor, and that is where the desks are. The president served in his house when the house met there. There is a brass plaque that shows were abraham lincolns desk was. One that shows where John Quincy Adams sat. Of course, its the hall where there is a statue of great americans. As i walked in, sitting against every statue. Around all of the walls, there were men and women and swat gear and Tactical Gear where they fought for hours. For democracy, for the capital, for the lives of those of us who were there. There were Water Bottles spread across the floor. Water they were drinking and listening and using to wash away tear gas other irritants. I walked around, and i tried to say, thank you. I tried to think them, and of course, my words out inadequate. I then walked out of statuary hall towards the rotunda. As you leave statuary hall, if you look up over the door, that is where the oldest statue in the u. S. Capitol stands. It is a statue of cleo. She is the muse of history. She was placed there, and she arrives in a winged chariot because of time, and she had a book in her hand, and in the book, she was reporting, and she was meant to remind she was there to remind the house in those days that all of our deeds are recorded in the book of history. She is there to remind all of us that what we do is part of the fabric of the nations history. I left statuary hall and i walked into the rotunda, and i know all of you have seen the rotunda, and many of you have been there. It is where every president including president lincoln and president kennedy have laid in state. Its where the statues of men Like Washington and jefferson and lincoln and grant and eisenhower, ford, reagan, they encircled halls, and again, against every wall were brave men and women who had been fighting a battle for our capital that they. In the rotunda, there is also a series of paintings. They encircled the walls, and there are paintings that were done by george trumbull. One of those paintings in particular, they all have early american history. But one of them depicts the moment in 1793 where George Washington resigned his commission. When he handed control of the Continental Army back to congress. And, trumbull, who painted this, says he thought this was one of the highest moral lessons ever given to the world. To volunteer handing back power. It began the peaceful transfer of power in this nation. If you go back and you listen to the inaugural addresses of so many of our president s, you will see they talk about this peaceful transfer of power. Reagan said it was nothing short of a miracle. Kennedy says it was a celebration of freedom. It is something that binds us together as americans. It is a miracle. There is a peaceful transfer of power that has been honored by every american president. Until donald trump. Every single one. In the days after january 6, my husband and i were having dinner with our two youngest children. I looked across the table at my son, and i had a sudden realization. All of us all of us have grown up in this country, and have been able to count on the fact that we would have a peaceful transfer of power. Even if you disagree with the outcome of the election, even if youth fought the election hard and understood that your candidate had lost, that we could count on the people leading us to guarantee a peaceful transfer of power. I looked at my son, and i thought to myself, are they going to be a generation that no longer can count on them . I determined then, and i am determined to now, as long as i can, and every way possible, i am to fight to make sure that is not the case it that every single generation in this nation. [applause] that all of us know we can guarantee a peaceful transfer of power, and count on the peaceful transfer of power, and i do think that this is a question that all of us, not just those of us who are in an elected office, but all of us have to ask ourselves, in this time of testing for this country, and this time of challenge, are we going to do our duty . What will future generations say about us when they look at this moment and say when the chips were down, did they do their duty . The fundamental question for us is will we commit ourselves to our constitution and will we commit ourselves to honor the outcome of our elections, even when we lose . Maybe especially when we lose. That is the fundamental fabric of democracy, and that is what is at risk today. Today, there are too many people , too may republicans in elected office. They are ignoring the threat. This isnt about policy. I voted with donald trump over 90 of the time. I think 93 of the time. I am a conservative. Ive always been a conservative. But we dont get to have battles about policy. Not if we dont build those structures, and not built on a foundation of truth. We exchange that professor nunez was talking about at lunch with the students. It was, what do you do about this information . What do we as a society do about truth . One of the most important things we all have to do is commit, individually, ourselves to educate ourselves, to know what information we are consuming, and face the truth and face the facts. There are some crucially important facts i want to talk about today. That is, the threat posed by donald trump. It is an ongoing and real threat. If you have not watched the january 6 earrings, i urge you to download them and watch them. I urge you to realize that narrowly nearly every witnesses testified that she testified in front of our committee were republicans, republicans appointed to the highest offices in the land by donald trump, his attorney general, his white house counsel, the head of his campaign, his family. These are people that talk to the committee about what happened, and what they knew, and more and partly, what he knew. What we need to recognize and understand is President Trump had a premeditated plan, a premeditated plan to declare victory. No matter the outcome of the election. No matter the results. A premeditated plan. On Election Night his advisors told him not to. They said, we dont have the results. We dont know the outcome. Do not declare victory tonight. With the exception of Rudy Giuliani, they said dont do it. Even Rudy Giuliani admitted later that they did not have the evidence. They did not have evidence of fraud. They did not have evidence of irregularities. Sufficient to change the outcome of the election. Donald trump determined he would declare victory and set about trying to find the evidence, trying to find people who would fabricate the evidence. People will say, maybe there was fraud. Another key point to remember is on election day and in the days after the election, there was no american, no american, who was better informed about the absence of fraud than donald trump. Think about that. He had access to information because his Justice Department was investigating allegations of fraud, because his campaign was telling him, listen, if you combine all the allegations of fraud and all the allegations of irregularities together and you interpret them in a way that is most favorable to donald trump, that is not enough to change the outcome of the election. He knew that. He knew more than any other american, potentially, had the opportunity or ability to know. In spite of this, he made the conscious decision to claim, fraudulently, that the election was stolen. He made the decision to pressure state officials to change results. He made the decision to manufacture, to work, to pressure state officials and Republican Party officials in a number of states to manufacture fake electoral slates, to attempt to corrupt the department of justice and summon tens of thousands of people to washington, d. C. When they got to washington, d. C. On the morning of january 6, he knew that they were angry. He knew they were armed. He sent to them to march to the capitol. Then, at 2 24, knowing there was a violent attack underway on the capitol, he sent out a tweet saying Vice President pence did not have the courage to do what was right. If you look at the timeline, you see that tweet went out at 2 24. He knew there was violence. He knew the tweet would incite further violence. Five minutes later, there was a line of metropolitan Police Officers on the west front of the capitol. That line broke because thousands surged forward. It was the first time in history that a metropolitan Police Department line like that has broken. Thanks to the bravery of metropolitan Police Officers and capitol Police Officers, they held the door. I want you to think, when i say the door, to understand what door i am talking about. The door they held, the door you see in the videos where you see Police Officers being brutally beaten, thousands already the crowd searching forward, that is the door that the president s of the United States world walked out of four theyre going to be sworn into office, the door that leads to the inaugural platform. The battle fought over that door was medieval handtohand combat. One Police Officer that night told me he served in iraq, and never saw any light anything like the combat that day. If they had not held that door, we would have had thousands more people in the capitol and an even worse constitutional crisis. While that was all going on, donald trump was in the dining room of the oval office watching it on television. His family members were coming in, pleading with him to tell people to stop and go home. His staff was coming in and pleading with him. Members of congress were pleading with him to stop the violence and tell people to go home. I ask you to think about this in not any kind of political way. This is not about politics. Donald trump was the one person that could tell the mob to stop. He was the one person that could get people to go home. He watched for hours and refused to do so. Think about what kind of human being does that. It is not normal, acceptable, or lawful in our republic. What gives me hope has been the individuals we have seen both who have testified in front of the committee and those who have not. Those who acted that day to save the republic. That is one of the most important stories of january 6. The power and the courage. The dazzling honor of individual americans that saved the republic. They are mostly republicans. They are people like rusty bowers in arizona, the recipient of unbelievably intense pressure from donald trump, Rudy Giuliani, and others to change the outcome in arizona. Rusty bowers was facing pressure while his daughter was dying. Think about the strength of that man. Think about what he did. I think about his commitment to the constitution. That is an awesome thing that should give us all tremendous hope. Think about people like brad raffensperger. Think about people who testified in front of our Committee Like sarah matthews, cassidy hutchinson. These are people that have stood up for the truth. They understand and recognize that in this nation, our institutions do not sustain themselves. They only sustain themselves because individuals do the right thing. Every citizen of this country, whether you are elected or not, has an obligation to make sure you are doing everything you can to defend the institutions of our republic. And to recognize what it means to be a nation of laws, not a nation of men. We can all disagree with the rulings of the courts. But none of us can ignore the rulings of the courts. None of donald trump did that. 61 out of 62 courts that heard his claims, the claims of his allies, that saw the evidence, ruled against him. The president of the United States has a duty to make sure laws are faithfully executed. I president of the United States cannot ignore the rulings of the court. No citizen can do that. We need to recognize and understand what it means when we say we are a nation of laws. It means no matter the outcome, no matter our disagreements with the courts, we abide by air perspective them. We all have an obligation to ensure we are conducting ourselves in a way worthy of the republican worthy of the men and women in uniform who have died, fought, and sacrificed so much for us already every single generation. I will never forget the weeks after january 6. Receiving any mail from a goldstar father. He said, standing up for truth honors all who gave all. Our duty and responsibility as americans means that we have to conduct ourselves in ways that will perpetuate the republic and are worthy of those that have come before, and mostly those that wear the uniform of this nation. At this moment in our history, this means we have to pull back from the abyss. We have to pull back from the toxicity, from the vitriol, from the political battles being waged separate from substance, separate from policy. That threatened to tear this nation apart. That have introduced violence again into our political life. As americans, we must to able across party lines to stand up and say violence has no part in the political disagreements of this nation. It must never. [applause] as these select committee has been working, we have also seen federal judges across the country, federal judges in washington in particular, addressing january 6 cases. As you all know, our judges are sworn to deal impartial justice, to preserve the constitution and preserve the union. I want to read a few things to you from one judges statement at a recent sentencing hearing for the individual who brutally attacked our officer from known on january 6. Heres what she said. High ranking members of congress and state officials who know perfectly well that the claim of fraud was and is untrue, and in the election was legitimate are so afraid of losing their own power that they will not say so. It has to be Crystal Clear that it is not patriotism, it is not standing up for america, to stand up for one man who knows full well he lost instead of standing up for the constitution he was trying to subvert. What happened on january 6, she said, and the effort to keep that spirit alive 1. 5 years later is the antithesis of what america stands for, the pure embodiment of tyranny and authoritarianism. What happened on january 6 is unjustifiable. We have to make sure our nation does not only punish the foot soldiers that stormed the capitol. Those who planned to overturn the election, who brought us to the point of violence, they must also be held accountable. If we do not do that, then, the indefensible conduct becomes indefensible. If elected officials excuse or ignore what happens, then the inexcusable conduct becomes excusable. It will happen election after election after election. I ask you today to consider where our nation is in its history. Consider what it means to be a citizen in our republic. Think about what it will take for this nation to survive for another 246 years. Think about the fact that none of us, none of us, in a republic, can be a bystander. Most, especially elected officials cannot be bystanders. Most people in most places in most periods of time on this earth have not been free. America is an exception. We continue only because we find ourselves bind ourselves to our founders principles and our constitution. We have to recognize those principles are above politics, that they are inviolate, and more important than any single individual. Let me leave you with this thought. There is a wonderful book written by a man named ted woodward called lincoln on the verge. I do not know ted woodward but i am giving his book a plug. In his book, he talks about the power of lincoln. His book is about lincolns train trip from springfield to washington, d. C. To be sworn in. He says, lincoln actually believed the promises of our founding documents. Woodward describes it this way. He said, that made him dangerous. It made him a dangerous and ascetical politician who recycled old platitudes without pausing to digest them. Lets leave here today resolved that we will believe the promises of our founding documents and conduct ourselves soon was so as to uphold them and perpetuate the republic, and all remember there is no power on this earth that is stronger than free citizens determined to stand together to defend the miracle and blessing of our freedom. Thank you. God bless all of you. [applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you, congresswoman. We have plenty of time for questions. I have a few questions of my own. Then, we have a tradition in the center. We have a microphone here. I think there is a microphone upstairs. Students who have questions, line up. I will ask a few questions to start us off. Let me recognize dean call. Dana cole. Thank you for joining us. Congresswoman, i should mention, i have not talked with the congresswoman about these questions. She has not seen them. In august you remarked that the primary election is over, but now the real work begins. You told us about this work this afternoon. Can you tell us more about your particular future in doing it . I never get that question. What i meant was, the outcome of any primary, certainly, the outcome of my primary is not the most important thing. Certainly, its not anywhere close to as important as challenges we are facing in the country. The challenges we are facing, what it will take to write our politics, one of my democratic colleagues said to me that he looks forward to getting back to disagreeing with me. I like that sentiment a lot. It will mean our politics have righted themselves and we will debate policy again. I think that the issues and challenges we are facing from the perspective of the assault on the constitution matter much more than the outcome of any race. One of the dangers we have seen since january 6 is too few elected officials willing to put the constitution and the fidelity of the constitution the constitution ahead every election. We have a huge task ahead. I am now very focused on my final month as wyomings representative and my work on the select committee. We will then make decisions about what is next. I am not focused on that from a campaign perspective. I know that is how people think about it. I am focused on it from the perspective of what we need to do, and what can i do to help make sure that we get back to a place where we have clearly defeated the threat and we are embracing and perpetuating the constitution. Is there one piece of evidence or one moment of testimony during the january 6 Committee Hearings you think is most important . I think it is very difficult to pick one. The evidence that the committee received, the material produced, the testimonial evidence, we have worked very hard to make sure we are focusing and highlighting key pieces of the evidence in our hearings. I think what is important for people to recognize is it is a multipart plan. It was overseen and directed. Donald trump had personal and substantial involvement in every element of it, from a premeditation to the termination, to the attempt to claim victory even though he knew he had bought one, to pressure state officials, to pressure the department of justice, to pressure the Vice President , to get people to submit state electors. Then, as i mentioned, to send a mobster the capitol. I asked people to think about this comparison. Sometimes when we talk about january 6 we become numb. We have heard about it or watched it, and seen it. I think we must fight against that. It cannot be normal. People should think about, what if Dwight Eisenhower had summoned on the day to washington knowing they were armed, to march on the Supreme Court during the arguments around brown v. Board of education, and when that attack was under way, refused to stop it. We cannot imagine that because quite eisenhower was an honorable man who understood his duty. It is important for people to focus on both Donald Trumps actions and his inactions that day. Do you think donald trump broke the law on or around jan six january 6 . What laws . Should he be criminally prosecuted . The committee has the responsibility to make decisions about criminal referrals. I, of course, have my own views. I dont want to get ahead of the Committee Discussions on it. I would point people to judge carters opinion, in which he said it is more likely than not that donald trump and john eastman violated at least two federal criminal statutes. Again, i dont want to get ahead of the committee. But i think that you will see the committees work in this regard done in a unanimous way. I think it is there is no question about the answer. [applause] why did the committee wait until the last day of the hearing to subpoena the president . Why not day one . Its not necessarily the last day of the hearing. [applause] but, i think that we have felt it is very important that the investigation be conducted in a way that is rigorous, disciplined, and responsible. This has meant collecting evidence from many if not all. Some people took the fifth. Some people refused to appear. But collecting evidence from all those around the central figure in january 6 before we issued a subpoena for him was what we have done. One last question from me. You are a republican and a conservative. What would you say to the conservatives you might Say Something like the following yes, i know trump lacks the character to be president and i do not like it much, but at least he stood up to the welcome bob and cultural elite and he defends is awoke mob the woke mob and cultural elite and he stands up for us in a way Establishment Republicans never seem to do. I have a lot to say to those people. [applause] first of all, there is nothing christian or faithful in any religion about someone who sits by and allows violence that he sparked to occur and refuses to take action to stop it, to save peoples lives. Secondly, i would say wokism is a real problem. Council culture is a real problem. We have to respect and honor the First Amendment, especially on college campuses. But, the response to wokism cannot be that conservatives torched the constitution. We have to be able to maintain our fidelity to the constitution. Because, the constitution is our shield. If we abandoned it because following it does not lead to the outcome we prefer, we will not have it as a shield when we are faced with threats to our First Amendment rights or our Second Amendment rights or any rights protected by the constitution. We also have to be we have to conduct ourselves in politics in a way that is faithful to end encourages people to put their trust in us. If you are a conservative and believe in conservative policies, you have an obligation to make your case to people, and go out and conduct yourself in a way that explains why we believe in those policies. It cannot be that the American People have to choose between wokism, socialism, and insurrection. We have to present a different and better substantive alternative that is faithful to the constitution. [applause] i see there are students up here. Students, tell us your name and introduce yourself. Thank you, congressman for this talk. My name is nico. I am a junior. My general question was about standing up, like you spoke about, for truth, and your beliefs. This is a specific question regarding abortion, one of the most prevalent issues on campus, not only with recent of elements, but the catholic character of the university. It is an issue a lot of us are talking about. I was wondering if your prolife stance has changed over the last few months, maybe since breaking with the party establishment. Your the act in july was essentially a bill offering unrestricted access to abortion. Obviously, the right to contraception act, i think the same week, generally, the consensus seems to be the language in that bill was broad enough to include abortion bills pills and other harmful chemical pills attacking the life of the unborn. My views on the matter have not changed. I am prolife, probably and strongly prolife. As we talked about at lunch, i believe that there has to be exceptions. I believe as politicians debate these issues, this is an issue that is one that requires compassion and sensitivity and understanding and respect for what families go through. We ought to do everything we can to protect the most vulnerable, the unborn. I think too often, as we have debated, the vitriol, the talking points, the attacks that go on do not reflect the reality of peoples lives. When you are facing a situation, as you have seen in the news recently, where there was a 10yearold that had been raped and was not able to obtain an abortion, the bait debate around that was one that was shameful in a lot of ways. I think we have to be willing to understand and recognize there have to be exceptions. But, when you are dealing with questions about abortion, you are talking about two lives. We, as a society have to recognize that and make sure that as we grapple with the issue, we do it with the sensitivity and compassion that reflects how painful the issue is. On all sides. [ applause]] please. Thank you for speaking with us. What is your name . Zane, a freshman year. Before i came here i was an intern for the third Congressional District of colorado. One of my jobs was to go to the state convention where they work to select people to be on the republican nomination ballot for synod to cover governor, then the third Congressional District. Senate, governor, then the third Congressional District. One thing i noticed that was disappointing to me was in colorado we had maybe five really good candidates for senate. They all do not have a chance to compete on the ballot because one guy was able to get up there and presented a video of him shooting a dominion voting machine with a 50 caliber. It exploded. He talked about how he was the first to go to arizona and protest and cause riots and issues in arizona. Saying that the election was stolen. He canceled out a lot a very highly qualified people from being able to get on the ballot. It was sort of a circular firing squad. He got 30 . He was the one to move forward. He lost the nomination to john oday who is now running in colorado. That was ron hanks. But my real question is about, i think the one lesson we are all going to take away from january 6 is that there are groups in American Society that can be easily manipulated by these buzzwords. Moving on, the next five or 10 years, what are some ways, not just in the Republican Party, but the democratic party, that we can have citizens in the u. S. Start to understand the importance of respecting our elections, starting to take the emotion out of all these things, and start focusing on issues that have a major impact on american geopolitical strategy, and issues in the homeland . Good question. There are a lot of parts to that. I would say, first of all, your experience at the convention, i think about the state of the Republican Party in wyoming today. Our party in wyoming is headed by an oath keeper. An oath keeper that was at the capitol january 6. He then came back to wyoming and said we should contemplate secession. So, we are in a situation in the country where a number of our Party Structures have been taken over by people who do not reflect responsible leadership or the types of commitment to policy we need. I think we have to take a lesson from their book. We need to getting aged and active at every single level. That means, run for precinct committeemen and Committee Women slots. Run for school board. Recognize and understand in our country we end up with people that will not do the right thing because that lower levels in the political structure, the nominating process may have been taken over. I will also say, we all have an obligation not support those people. When you end up with a republican nominee, as we have in arizona today for secretary of state or governor, who are saying they will only respect the outcome of elections if they agree with them, then we have an obligation not to support those people. It does not matter what party they are in. It also applies to democrats. Democrats should not be playing games in republican primaries and funding election deniers. [applause] if people think they cannot win general elections, you are playing with fire. So, i think the way to solve this is to run for office, run for Office Beginning at every level, be organized, and think carefully about how your how you cast your vote. Make sure you are voting for responsible people. If the republicans are nominating somebody who is an adventure denier or that you cannot count on to abide by their oath, you should not vote for that person. You should write somebody in or vote for the democrat. Do not vote for the election to buyer. [applause] congresswoman cheney, thank you for the bravery to stand here. Right name is joe. I am a senior studying philosophy education from charleston, north carolina. I thought, i like this lady. I think she gets it. My question is about the future of your political career. Have you considered running for president . [upon] applause] [laughter] i would like to sign you up for my notre dame chapter. [] laughter] it is the same answer i gave professor munoz. I think it will be crucial that we elect people that will defend the constitution. I have not made a decision yet about what i will do. We have a lot of excellent candidates. We have a lot of bad candidates too. So, i will make decisions about that in the coming months. I appreciate your support. Thank you. [applause] congressman janie, i am a freshman here. Thank you for being here today. My question is about a social issue. You initially ran your First Campaign on preserving traditional marriage, specifically, protections for religious institutions, such as catholic churches, that object to samesex marriage. In light of that, can you are mine your vote for that respect for marriage act that eliminated those conscientious objections . I appreciate the question. I believe strongly in religious freedom. I have been a strong supporter and will continue to be of the religious freedom restoration act. I also believe that freedom has to mean freedom for everybody. I do not believe religious institutions should be forced in any way to have to participate in activities that violate their religious beliefs. But, i also believe that, as i have said, this is a personal issue for me. My sister is gay. She is married. And, i love her and her family very much. I believe freedom has to mean freedom for everybody. [applause] thank you for being here. I was sitting in my seat so excited you would be here this weekend. I am a senior. My name is brenton brendel. I am upon a site major. I father is a veteran i am a Political Science major and my father is a veteran who did multiple tours in iraq. He was in jordan within 48 hours of 9 11. I was wondering what congress is doing for veterans. A lot of veterans do not feel Like Congress is doing enough for them at all. What are you doing for veterans longterm and right now . Thank you. [applause] thank you for your fathers service and your Families Service to the country. Support for veterans is something that i am very pleased is a bipartisan issue. I think support for our veterans takes a whole range of different policies. Its interesting if you look at generational issues. In my experience on the Armed Services committee and representative of wyoming, there are tremendous Veterans Services organizations. They tended to reach more veterans of a previous generation. Veterans of the vietnam war tended to be more active with Veterans Service organizations. We needed to do more to spread at their reach and focus. One of the issues we have come to recognize is a tragedy and unacceptable, veteran suicide. Dealing with and addressing Veterans Mental Health is crucial. I would visit v. A. Hospitals across wyoming. You hear often that veterans need to seek Mental Health support but they dont want to go to the v. A. To do it because they think it will reflect negatively on their record. We have to do better at Mental Health support, outreach. Providing support in terms of suicide prevention. I think it is also crucially important our v. A. System, we saw improvements in the v. A. System during the trump administration. Being a veteran and being able to go to the v. A. System, if you cannot get help and support there immediately, being able to go into the community and get support from v. A. Survivors and to get that support covered is crucial. We put in place a Choice Program that i think have had has had mixed results, but has been positive for the most part. I always feel, as a member of congress, one of the things that we have to be able to do, is remembered that every time we walk onto the floor of the house, every time we engage in political debate on the floor of the house, the only reason we can do that is because of our veterans. We must never forget that. [applause] we have about 15 minutes left and many students lined up. We will go through the questions and responses as fast as we can hear. Thank you for coming to speak, congresswoman cheney. My name is leon. I am a freshman. There are a lot of republicans in the party, maybe not the most vocal segment, that agree with what you are saying but at the same time, say, i disagree with the path of the country is on hunter biden and want to sue on under guided and want to support under President Biden and want to support the Republican Party, but they are not sure what that looks like with the influence of trump and whatnot. How do you think the Republican Party can fight the influence of trump under the party and make sure he does not get nominated in 20 for . 2024 . Good question. Ultimately parties are just the people that belong to them. I think that we are certainly in a position today in the Republican Party, and i can tell you this from personal experience, there is, you know, a tendency to sincere views that are not protrump. I think the only way to combat that is for people to be brave enough to stand up. I have heard it i understand completely what i hear this. I hear from people a lot. We really want to stand up and fight the fight, but we are afraid. Some people tell me they are afraid for their families, their security. I remember the congress before the impeachment mode. They told me they believed donald trump should be impeached , but they could touch vote that way because they were afraid for the security of their families. I think people have to stop and realize what that means in the United States of america. It requires where people stand up and say no. What people say, this is not who we are. Aaron, we also incentivize the people who do. And, we show them that there are more of us. We are more determined and more dedicated and we will fight this fight as long as we have to to win. [applause] my name is michael, a senior from holy cross college. To me, there is a historical parallel between this and of a former republic, with people fearing we might end up like the former republic, things like poverty attracting people to dangerous men. If we allow the poverty to continue, people will feel desperate enough to be behind a man that will guarantee every day, even though it might threaten the freedoms. Because they want security, food, and peace at the cost of freedom. How do we account for the poverty . To make people not turn to a dictator . These men who want to seize power . Important point. I think that this requires a willingness to understand and recognize the choice people are suggesting be made. I think there were and are many good people who have believed donald trump flies. And continue to believe them. I think we have a responsibility to do everything we can do make sure people understand what a betrayal he is engaged in. Also, to put forward the policies that actually are going to address those concerns and challenges and make sure people know that he is not an acceptable choice. Not giving up the commitment to a peaceful transfer of power is not a tradeoff video of us cant make if we want the republic to survive. I do not want to minimize the difficulty, the challenge, or the threat. But, i think this really does require people to consider what happens if you make that choice. That is a choice you make one send you can never go back. You never have another Fair Election free of violence again. Thank you, congresswoman. My name is alex young. I am a freshman. I want to thank you for your bravery. America appreciates it. Many americans across the country have friends and family that are now lying the elections, the facts, the objective news stories. You dealt with this with your colleagues. How do we navigate these conversations are the Kitchen Table . At the Kitchen Table . [laughter] it is true that it is very divisive and difficult. I hope that one of the things that the committee has been able to do as, but is, by showing is, by showing, that the claims of fraud were rejected again and again by republicans. I think that is so important. Making sure that people understand and recognize that this is a lie. In some ways, i think it is more difficult dealing with family members. There are other emotions involved there. But, i have certainly seen friendships torn apart and families torn apart. I think there is no easy answer except a commitment to the truth. A commitment to respectful dialogue. Also, understanding that, you know, we all have to have these arguments based on facts and evidence. We have had witnesses in front of the Committee Say things to us like, i just feel like it was stolen. I just feel like that. One important point to make people is, you do not get to overturn elections because you feel like they were stolen. So, put yourself in the position of, if it had been somebody in the other party saying, i do not have the evidence, i cannot produce any evidence in court, any time i have made an allegation it has been refuted, i am just telling you you should believe it was stolen. We would never stand for that if it was somebody in the other party. Doing a better job about educating people about the rule of law is why we have to abide by the rulings of the court is a key part of this. [applause] my name is emily. I am a senior. My question is similar, but specifically in light of how the january 6 committee has been painted as a very polarizing event. What else can be done to encourage people that have been brought into Election Fraud claims to change their mind . When i think about the january 6 committee and the attacks, i think that it is important for people to understand how we got to the committee. We all would have preferred a bipartisan outside commission. This is what we voted for. 35 republicans in the house. Kevin mccarthy withdrew his support for that commission. Fit with the idea of the Bipartisan Commission went to the synod, mr. Mcconnell fought against it. Then when the idea of the Bipartisan Commission went to the senate, mr. Mcconnell fought against it. I would say to my republican colleagues that it is never too late to decide he will ask andrea anyway that is moral. Never to decide you will act in a way that is moral. Never too late. Those of us that our elected have an obligation to make sure we are helping people recognize and understand the truth and not just sort of try to bury our head in the said the sand and hope for the best. If people tell you that the january 6 committee is parts of partisan reminded them the vast majority of witnesses have been republican and we have operated in a nonpartisan way. Our staff was led by a u. S. Attorney appointed by barack obama and a u. S. Attorney appointed by george bush. Every american can watch the facts, download the hearings, and see what happened. The people that are attacking it as partisan, i think, you have to ask yourself, why dont they want this investigated . [applause] we will take one more question for a beer, then above, then there is a final question. I am well connelly, a Software Firm pennsylvania, will connelly, a sophomore from pennsylvania. I was a poll worker in pennsylvania, 2020. My States Election results were in doubt and i want to thank you and other republicans that were in her corner. I want to ask you, as somebody who is not inclined to vote for republicans, how can we help the party get back on track . That is a loaded question. Very serious answer is, vote for serious people. There are certainly democrats who are not serious. We also obviously have republicans that are not serious. I think on both sides of the article, when you go into both sides of the aisle, when you go into vote think in terms of, what i heard this person . What i trusted this person to babysit by kids . Would i hire this person . Would i trust this person to babysit my kids . Fundamental questions of competence. Demand excellence of elected officials in the other ways we demand excellence of others in our lives. Boat vote for the serious person on both sides. I also think we need to get away from the polarized policy battles. There is a lot we can agree on. There are a lot of people of good faith we can disagree with but say, lets move together on these issues. We will never agree on these. Lets treat each other with respect. I think this is something we can all do regardless of party. [applause] congresswoman cheney, i am zachary leavy, majoring in journalism and Political Science. When you look at National Polling you see issues like border, covid19, the economy, inflation. My question is, is it in the best interest of the gop politically to put as much effort towards january 6 as you have, and if so, why . I do not think any elected official should ever look at it through the outlets. It is an important question. It is certainly what i hear. One i hear. We cannot make decisions about january 6 based on what the political result or impact will be. That is what that is why we did not have a Bipartisan Commission. That is why we watched what happened in the senate, primarily. It cannot be a political question. I think for the sake of the future, we have to make sure as many people as possible recognize what happened and why it is so dangerous. But, i do not think you can say, well, it is actually fundamentally anticonstitutional. Look at arrows. Look at what the framers look at our oath. Look at what the framers said about factions and as a potential you would have people who were not of good faith to take power. I think we are obligated not to look at it through that lens. I think i also fundamentally believe that at the end of the day the American People want leaders they can trust. And that you have to be able to say, yeah, i will do the right thing. It may not be the thing that benefits me literately or benefits my party politically, we have to deal with this outside of politics. Thank you. One last question. We have a big game tomorrow. What is the final score . Rep. Cheney 3414. [applause] thank you for your time and thank you for visiting us and thank you for your service. [applause] cspans campaign 2022 coverage of the midterm elections continues. Beginning live tonight at 8 eastern, from wisconsin to niebuhrs debates to michaels. At 9 00, peter welch debates for the op sate seat in vermont. At 10 00 p. M. , the colorado debate. Do not miss a single election moment as cspan and take us with you on the go with the cspan now, our free mobile video app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Sunday and q a, northeastern universitys marget burnham shares her book which highlights the racial violence in the south. We are focusing on the south because that is where the violence was concentrated and disenfranchised. Ople were they were completely exposed to the violence at the hands of Law Enforcement and also by hands of bus drivers who felt the role was to enforce jim crow. Margaret burnham with her book, sunday night at 8 00 eastern on the cspans q a. You can listen on our free cspan now cap. Cap. Cspan now is our new mobile app. Stay uptodate with live video coverage of the days biggest events, from live streams of the house and senate floor, and key congressional hearings, White House Events and Supreme Court oral arguments. Even our interactive Morning Program washington journal, where we hear your voices every day. Cspan now has you covered. It is available at the apple store and google play. Download it for free today. Cspan is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these Television Companies and more, including charter communications. Broadband is a voice for empowerment. That is why