Biden awards January 6 committee chairwoman Liz Cheney a medal: ‘The US is better because of its commitment’

President Biden awarded the second-highest civilian medal to the chairs of the former House Select Committee on January 6, former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, for their “exemplary service to their country,” according to the statement the statement from the White House.

“The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary actions for their country or their fellow citizens. President Biden believes these Americans are bound together by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their commitment and sacrifice,” the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

The White House announced that 20 people across the country would receive the Presidential Citizens Medal on Thursday, including Cheney and Thompson, whom Biden praised as “undaunted” and “unwaveringly committed to the truth.”

“Through two decades of public service, including as a congresswoman for Wyoming and vice chair of the January 6th Attack Committee, Liz Cheney has raised her voice – and reached across the aisle – to champion our nation and the ideals we stand for stand to defend: “Freedom. And decency. Your integrity and fearlessness remind us all of what is possible when we work together,” the White House said in its statement.

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Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks as the House special committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its final meeting on Dec. 19, 2022. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. , is displayed on the left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Born and raised in segregated Mississippi, as a college student inspired by the civil rights movement, Bennie Thompson volunteered on campaigns and registered black voters in the South. That call to office ultimately led him to Congress, where he chaired the House committee on January 6th – standing at the forefront of defending the rule of law with unwavering integrity and an unwavering commitment to the truth,” the statement said to Thompson.

Thompson served as chairman of the special committee on Jan. 6, with Cheney serving as vice chairman. The January 6th Committee was formed in July 2021 to investigate this Breach of the US Capitol earlier this year by Trump supporters ahead of President Biden’s official inauguration on January 20. The Jan. 6 committee investigation was conducted when Democrats had control of the House.

The committee completed its 18-month investigation in 2023 after Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives and sent recommendations to the Justice Department recommending that Trump be criminally charged for his involvement in the run-up to his supporters’ breach of the Capitol to pursue.

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Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., speaks as the House special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol holds a hearing on June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The committee consisted of seven Democrats and two Republican representatives, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are no longer in office.

New Senate Majority Leader John Barrasso, R-Wyo., responded to Biden’s decision to award the medal to Cheney in comments to Fox Digital on Thursday, criticizing her as a former elected official who “represents partisanship and division.”

“President Biden wanted to either pardon Liz Cheney or give her an award. She doesn’t deserve either. She represents partisanship and division, not Wyoming,” he said.

Elected Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump have railed against the committee and its leaders for years. A recent House Republican report calls on the FBI to investigate Cheney for “potential criminal witness tampering” related to her role on the former select committee.

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Former Philadelphia Police Chief Al Schmidt testifies before Congress. (Jabin Botsford/Pool via REUTERS/File)

“Based on the evidence collected by this subcommittee, Liz Cheney, the former vice chair of the January 6 Select Committee, likely violated numerous federal laws, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” a recently released report said month over House Administration Subcommittee to oversight chairman Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. “Evidence uncovered by the subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without the knowledge of Hutchinson’s attorney.”

Cheney and Thompson both criticized the report in comments to Fox Digital last month.

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“The January 6 committee hearings and report featured numerous Republican witnesses, including many of the most senior officials from Trump’s own White House, his campaign and his administration,” Cheney said. “All of this testimony has been carefully presented in thousands of pages of transcripts and published alongside an extremely detailed and carefully compiled 800-page report. Now, Chairman Loudermilk’s “interim report” intentionally ignores the truth and the Select Committee’s enormous burden of proof, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory statements to cover up what Donald Trump has done. Your claims do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly attack on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously.

President Biden (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/File)

Cheney was the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House but was ousted from her role as GOP conference chair by her colleagues in 2021. Cheney lost her 2022 re-election primary to Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman.

A House Republican report alleges that the committee “deleted records and hid evidence.”

The report followed speculation that Biden might grant Cheney a presidential pardon before he leaves the Oval Office. Late last year, Trump renewed his longstanding criticism of Cheney and the Jan. 6 Committee and suggested that she and Thompson could face prison time.

“Cheney, along with Thompson and the people on the unelected committee, did something inexcusable political thugs and, you know, creeps,” he said in an interview with NBC. “They deleted and destroyed all evidence.”

“And Cheney was behind it. And Bennie Thompson and everyone on this committee too,” he continued. “Frankly, they should go to prison for what they did.”

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According to the Associated Press, the Presidential Citizens Medal is the second-highest honor a civilian can receive from the president, after the Presidential Medal of Freedom.