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Understanding 9/11tv Rep. Liz Cheney R-WY Speaks at New Hampshire Free Speech Event CSPAN November 14, 2021 10:19pm-11:01pm EST
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karen: >> download c-span's new mobile app and stay up-to-date, from live streams to the house to the senate floor and key congressional hearings, to white house events and supreme court oral arguments. we hear your voices every day. c-span now has you covered. download the app for free today. >> congresswoman liz cheney was the keynote speaker at an awards presentation hosted by the school of communications. she serves as vice chair of the house select committee investigating the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol.
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>> ladies and gentlemen, having asked you to take your seats, i ask you now to please rise and join with me in pledging allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. thank you very much. one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. thank you very much. it is so nice of you to be here to support the school. i am the president of the little
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school of communications, of which i am very proud. i also consider myself fortunate that we have laura, a wonderful executive director of the school. true to form, laura did not want to get up here to help with this because she avoids the limelight while she does the work in the background. but i would like kurdistan so we could give her a round of applause. [-- i would like her to stand so we can give her a round of applause. [applause] the wish was to nurture communications among granite stators and to stress the importance of the first amendment. not just for the press, but for all of us. it has done so through its free classes in the first amendment
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honors program that we have today. and in these uncertain times, and a solutions journalism program that helps new hampshire media focus on specific issues and potential solutions for them. that last item is a big deal and exciting. if you are not a supporter or are unfamiliar, please ask laura or me or go to the website for information. how am i doing, laura? [laughter] this past 18 months, laura and linda, our administrative a at the school, and a group of wonderful teachers has kept the school running, despite covid. new classes were added, everyone learned how to zoom, class attendance jumped big-time, and we did not worry about snow days.
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covid also canceled last year's event honoring the college professor marianne and her journalism class, which took the city all the way to the state supreme court and won a victory for public records. we salute the professor and her students. i cannot think all of our supporters individually today. i could, but we would be here until tomorrow morning. they are listed in the program and are on the screen and we are in their debts. i do want to thank u.s. representative liz cheney, not only for gracing us with their presence, but for her heroic work for our country. [applause] things to saint anthem college
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from the institute of politics for hosting this event. and i want to thank brendan, who somehow found the time to produce our first amendment videothanks also to our school trustees and members who are here today, for their support and guidance. i want to thank people's united bank in its new hampshire president, whose support for this program has been rock for years. please join me in welcoming diane. [applause] thank you. diane: thank you, it's really
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great to see people, i am president of people's united bank and we have been the major sponsor of this event since 2009. is because our company places a premium on impact, the kind of impact that requires courage, competence and character and we have an abundance of that in the room tonight. i'm grateful to see so many new hampshire business nonprofit and civic leaders come together to celebrate the first amendment of the united states constitution. it reads, congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of, or bridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for address of grievances.
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in participating in our government, using our first amendment freedoms is a great right and great responsibility, we just can't do it alone. the school of communication is one resource in our community that not only celebrates the first amendment and educates us in our constitutional freedom, at today's event and every day, the school offers free educational resources to help us all be stronger, more clear communicators. being better communicators, knowing how to engage and participate in our government, and working to support the free flow of ideas and information is not only a noble goal, it will help us forward as a state and hopefully as a nation. i don't have the gift of the journalistic mind, i gravitate more towards quotes. we are each other's harvests, we are each other's business, we are each other's magnitude and bond.
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thank you all for your commitment to the school, and to each other as we seek ways to build stronger bonds in our community. and i know you are going to enjoy today's program. [applause] [video clip] ♪ >> it's been one of my favorite stories that i have done this year. because it's very important to the people who are involved in it. >> people can't intimidate me.
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they try, it doesn't always work. >> the townspeople actually had that opportunity to voice their opinions. >> the way to be polite is to open with the public in september of 2020, which is a year after it took place. the road agents that i would like to get some gravel on walker pond road. the town treasurer says, you can't do that, i owned that land. >> when bruce johnson stood up and said we couldn't get gravel on that piece of land because he bought it. he sold that enclosed session. >> people at the meeting said, what, when? we have not been aware that this land was ever sold, and that is what kicked off the chain of events that led to this coming to light. >> he was the town treasurer, he
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can't legally buy anything over $200 unless it goes out for auction, then he can bid on it. >> it was the only way we were able to find out any information about the whole transaction. and in the beginning, there was no information, they were empty files. but by continuing to put these 901a's in in going to the department of revenue, etc., allstate agencies with wet 901a's -- 91 a's, it opened up a new world to us getting more and more information and getting the closed session released. there was no reason to have it in private sessions, so we
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talked to the police chief about it and he said the proper procedure, right up your complaint, and they have to go through the chief of police. we went through the chief of police. we have the answers to the 91 a's in our books. john has its complaint and i had mine. gave them to the police chief in january of 2021. he handed them into the county attorney. in august of 2021 he was found guilty and my friend and i, she and i went everywhere discussing every nook and cranny of this transaction. and it was good to have the three of us -- there were a few more people involved, because you don't think of everything, so all of our minds, we put everything together and to into did not make three, it made for.
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so we got a lot more information and we are still coming up with more information right now because we are fighting to get the property back to the town. >> it's the right thing to do. you don't let a thief keep what they stole. it's the right thing to do. no matter what it cost the town to retrieve that land back, if it costs us anything. >> i don't care who you are, i don't care about all these people here, i don't care about the president of united states, i'm coming after him, that's it. i got the proof, i'm coming after him. >> a lot of people don't, they don't voice their opinion, i wish they would. >> i is important that ordinary people, not just journalists or politicians know that they have
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this lot in their arsenal just to keep track of stuff and their town. i think this shows that if someone is motivated to pay attention to what happens with their town government, it could really be a big impact. >> is just a priceless gift we have in this country, the freedom of information act, freedom of speech, and we have found out ourselves, firsthand, that we did freedom of speech and it came back, and it worked so beautifully, and it will save our town a lot of money, and it will bring our town back together. ♪ [end of video clip]
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[applause] >> so this is the sponsor of the first amendment honor, and they are busy running electricity lines and asked me to present this to john and tara. so, please come up. [applause] you don't want to have to hold this while you are speaking, so i will put that right there and this is a small check that goes with it. please say a few words. >> thank you. a month or so ago, we received a
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phone call from the school of communications. they said that we were nominated and then won the first amendment award. after they explained it to us, we were shocked, never expecting anything like this we are working on our investigations. we were so honored and grateful that we would love to thank all those who made this possible. [applause] >> with the last name of -- eagle, this is the perfect award . we would like to think many of the people that it is the reason
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we are here today, for nominating us, to the super reporter, she has to have a cape on today, whose words expressed exactly why we are here. we cannot be more grateful to them. to the union leader publisher brendan mcquade for making us look so good in the video. [laughter:] ] in a special thank you to the president of nackey loeb school of communications for honoring us with this prestigious award. we have a special thank you for a dear friend and neighbor of ours who worked tirelessly with us and asked to be kept anonymous. she and i were velcro together during the last year putting this together, and we gratefully share this honor and the award with her. the first amendment gives everyday americans like us the power to stand up for our rights. be it in a small town like ours,
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1800 people, or in large cities. it helps keep and i on our elected and volunteered governments to keep them honest and for the people, not for themselves. using the first amendment ensures our country's future, as our founding fathers intended to free speech, freeze press and peaceful assembly. and freedom to petition for transparency in our government's doings. we ask you don't give in and don't give up. stand your ground and don't be bullied. be informed, you have the right. we did amid adversity and we were successful. our founding fathers, through the constitution, gave us the greatest gift in the world. we need to honor them and all the americans who sacrifice their lives for it and for all of us. we owe it to them and we thank you all so very much for coming
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here today, and thank you for this award. [applause] >> last i heard, the town did not want to take it back, so the story continues, but these are precisely the kind of people the first amendment award likes to honor because it's everyday people who see something wrong and say something. 91 a is the state's right to know law. that's very important, thank you very much. >> first, what a wonderful
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story. timmy, it's what the first amendment is about and what's special about new hampshire. new hampshire people taking action and having responsibility and doing what's right. congratulations, it's amazing and says so much about what the first amendment awards are about. i really want to welcome the media representatives today who have joined us. in the first amendment of the constitution we have free press that's essential to a healthy democracy. one more accurate, factual information draws information. the asked our learning and looking for all of us to support the strong future. my son and i established excellence in journalism in high school.
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let's proud to be a sponsor of the first amendment award. i would like to tell you are was important for my son to establish this price. early days jeff was co-editor chief of the school newspaper and manchester high school, and he loved it. they covered the freshman class elections. upon covering the elections, they asked the principal for the results and they gave the results, but they would not give them what the vote count was. they said, we want to publish the votes. and they said, i'm not giving it to you. so they wrote a very strong editorial criticizing the principle of saying that is not what freedom of presses is or what democracy is about. and the principal got personally offended by this and when and actually shut down the school
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newspaper, took to computers to the school newspapers, and locked the door to the newspaper. the union leader, very fortunately had a reporter come up and cover the story. it made the front page of the union leader many years ago, in 19 90. because of the pressure from the union leader, the newspaper date get reopened up in america. interestingly enough. the story is covered into books about what happened. so, it's very important for the first amendment and people like john for standing up for what is right, and having a say, it's so important, the first amendment. i think we all understand the importance of it. today we are fortunate to have an amazing speaker. the honorable united states representative from wyoming. liz cheney serves as right -- as
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wyoming's lone member of congress in the u.s. house of representatives. she was first elected in 2016 and served in the house committee for armed services. and his vice chair, as we have all seen recently, to investigate the january 6 attack on the united states capital. -- u.s. capitol. from 26 -- 2006 to 2021 she served as a third ranking republican in the house of representatives. prior to her election to congress, she served the united states state department, practiced law, and worked as a fox news analyst and had a book with vice president dick cheney, her father. she is a parent of five, and thank you for being with us today, representative cheney. [applause]
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>> thank you very much -- rep. cheney: thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you. it is wonderful to be here with you today. and, i only regret that i have to follow tara and john. because, what a tremendous story, and what a tremendous story for citizens and for the students hear that, at the end of the day, it's individuals who make the difference in individuals who have to make the difference. i cannot be more humbled and honored to be here. thank you all, and congratulations on a wonderful and well-deserved award. it's wonderful to be here at the nackey loeb's cool. i think that we all have seen,
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particularly in recent years, that it is increasingly rare that journalists, journalism is an entity that focuses on the truth, focuses on the facts, we can always count on that here and count on that from union leaders. so, it's wonderful to be here, wonderful to be able to honor the integrity and the truth telling of union leaders, so i am thrilled to do that. i am especially pleased to be here and have a chance to talk about our constitution and talk about the first amendment. when i think about the first amendment, the first thing i think about is the history of this great nation. and i actually had the chance this morning to do something i had never done before. and that was to visit the elliott burying ground in roxbury. and, if you haven't been, it's a
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wonderful place, it happens to be, i think it may be the oldest cemetery -- second oldest cemetery in boston. but there are 15 cheney's buried in the elliott burial ground. and it was very moving, i facetimed my parents, it took more time for them to figure out how to face time then to get there, but don't tell them i told you that. but some of the very first cheney's who came to america are actually buried at elliott burial ground. william cheney is there, he came in 1640. he was part of the great immigration of puritans who were trying to escape religious persecution in england and who came to the united states thinking and hoping that we would become a city on a hill. some of my cheney ancestors then moved to new hampshire after the revolutionary war, and my great, great grandfather was born in merrimack county, not far from
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here in 1829. samuel fletcher cheney moved to ohio and enlisted in april of 1861 when president lincoln first called for troops when the civil war began. he far -- he fought in the union army for four years. it was on sherman's march to the sea and was in the grand review parade and washington, d.c.. he passed the stand with president andrew johnson and general grant. and he knew, like all of the others who fought to preserve our union, he exemplified the idea that's enshrined in the motto of new hampshire, live free or die. they knew the price of freedom. they knew it had to be fought for and defended, and they knew they were the ones who had to do it.
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one of the greatest blessings of this country is that in every generation we have had citizens who have been willing to serve. citizens who have been willing to answer that call and defend our freedom. and as we meet here today, i can tell you, without a doubt, that the task for which so many generations have thought and have sacrificed, now falls to us. shortly after the impeachment back in january, i got a message from a goldstar father. he said to me, standing up for truth honors all who gave all, and i think that is something i will certainly never forget, and something i think we all have to remember every day. this task now falls to us. and the question for everyone of us, not just for those of us elected, but for every one of us, is this.
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and this time of testing will we do our duty? will we do what we must? will we defend our constitution, will we stand for truth, will we put duty to our oath above partisan politics? or will we look away from the danger, ignore the threat, embrace the lies, and enable the liar? there is no gray area when it comes to that question, when it comes to this moment, there is no middle ground. our founders provided that every elected official would swear an oath, and it's not an oath to a party, it's not an oath to an individual, it's a solemn oath we swear before god to support and defend the constitution of the united states. the founders established his oath because they knew the danger of faction. they knew that the survival of
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this great american experiment, the survival of our republic depended upon public servants of goodwill doing their duty to the constitution. putting loyalty to the nation and its founding ideals about self interest. this is no small thing. in fact, it is everything. today, too many political leaders seem to have forgotten the sacred nature of that oath. at precisely this moment when it matters most. we are confronting threats globally, that are in many ways, unparalleled. we watched in the last week as the chinese have tested a hypersonic weapon, we have seen reports come out and just the last few days that they may have one thousand nuclear weapons by 2030. we are seeing north korea on the march, iran on the march, rush on the march, nations around the world testing america. at precisely this moment, we need to make sure that we are
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unified, we need to ensure that as a nation we are working together to fight to preserve our freedom, to fight to preserve those ideals. and at this moment, when it matters most, we are also confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before. a former president was attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic, aided by political leaders who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man. just last night, former president trump was invited by house republican leaders to be the keynote speaker at our annual large fundraising dinner. at the dinner, he reportedly said, once again, that the insurrection was on november 3, and that the events of january 6, when a violent mob invaded the capital in an effort to
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overturn the will of the american people, and stop the constitutional process of the counting of electoral votes, that those events were a protest, that they were justified. political leaders who sit silent in the face of these false and dangerous claims are aiding a former president who is at war with the rule of law in the constitution. when our constitutional order is threatened as it is now, rising above partisanship is not simply an aspiration, it is an obligation. an obligation of every one of us. i am a conservative republican. i disagree strongly with nearly everything president biden has done since he has been in office. his policies are bad for this country. i believe deeply that conservative principles, limited government, low taxes, a national defense, the family as
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the essential building block of our nation and our society, those are the right ideals for this country. i love my party, i love its history, i love its principles. but i love my country more. i know this nation needs a republican party that is based on truth. one that puts forward our ideals and policies based on substance. one that is willing to reject former president's lies. one that is willing to tell the truth, that millions of americans have been tragically misled by former president trump, who continues, to this day, to use language that he knows provokes violence -- provoked violence on january 6. we need a republican party that is led by people who remember that the peaceful transfer of power is sacred, and it undergirds the very foundation of our republic. we need republican leaders who
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remember that fidelity to the constitution, fidelity to the rule of law, those are the most conservative of conservative principles. in the months since january 6, i have sometimes heard people say something like, well, what happened was bad, but it wasn't that big a deal because our institutions held. to those people i say, our institutions do not defend themselves. we the people defend them. our institutions held on january 6 because there were brave men and women elected officials at every level of our government who did their duty, who stood up for what was right, who resisted pressure to do otherwise. in our institutions held because of the bravery of the men and women in law enforcement and in our military. our capitol police, some of whom
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are here with us today, our metropolitan police, the atf, men and women in law enforcement who defended the most sacred space in our republic, our capitol building. our institutions held because there were 140 law enforcement officers who fought for hours, and held the tunnel on the west front of the u.s. capitol, preventing a violent mob of even more, thousands more from entering our building. because of those brave men and women, congress was safe and we carried out our constitutional duties to count the electoral votes. that is why our institutions held. because men and women of courage and honor recognize one of the most fundamental principles in a republic. that is the principle that no citizen in a republic is a bystander. no one is. everyone of us is called to
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defend this great experiment government of, by, and for the people. and all the history of mankind, there has never been a place like america. our nation is far from perfect, but we know that it is our founding documents, our founding principles, the constitution, our bill of rights that provide the path forward for freedom and justice for every one of us. and not just for us, but for all mankind. we have been entrusted with dish nation by god, and by every generation that has cherished and protected since our founding. we have a duty not just to protect and defend the nation, that we have a duty to protect our ideals and our freedoms by safeguarding our history. as we've watched over the last several years, it has become even more clear than ever that american history is lacking in
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our schools. we have to teach our children what is special about this nation. our children need to know about the boy -- they need to know about doolittle's raiders, the battles of midway and iwo jima. they need to know about the courage of the young americans to vote them out sees at the -- nazis at the battle of the bulge and the japanese at okinawa. they need to know why america was right to end the war by dropping atomic bombs, and they need to know about the fundamental decency of a nation that established the truman doctrine, the marshall plan, the berlin airlift and the nato. they need to know about the horror of the holocaust and what it means to promise never again. they need to know that once there was an empire that was so evil and so bereft of truth it had to build a wall to keep its citizens and,
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and our children and their children will know we loved our country more. thank you to everyone of you for your love of this nation, your
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love of our constitution and our bill of rights, and thank you very much for your steadfast fidelity to those things. god bless all of you, and god bless america. thank you. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> but wait, there's more. swell parting gifts from new hampshire. >> it was my honor to be here. thank you so much. thank you, everybody. >> so that is the formal
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program, and you probably don't want to hear about it but i will tell you anyways, there was a young gal from st. paul who wore a newspaper dress to a ball, and the dress caught on fire and burned her attire. front page, sports section, and all. thank you very much. [applause] >> see spanish or unfiltered view of government, provided by these television companies and more, including mediacom. >> the world changed in an instant, but mediacom was ready.
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schools went virtual and we powered a new economy. >> mediacom support c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. providers. ♪ host: randy barnett and evan bernick, you together have a new book called "the original meaning of the 14th amendment." in it, you argue that we must get our constitutional house in order. randy barnett, what is disordered about our constituti
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