Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning

I swore I was through reading books about Donald Trump’s efforts to overthrow the government. But when my turn came up for the audio book at my library, I decided to listen to it. I watched every minute of the January 6th hearing that Mississippi congressman Bennie Thompson chaired. Liz Cheney was the ranking minority member. She narrated the book. One of the real bonuses of this book is the use of actual audio from the hearing sessions when she was talking about them. That really helped my understanding of the procedures even though I had watched them on television. I really wish every American would read Cheney’s book, but, unfortunately, those who need it the most—Republicans who refused to watch the proceedings—probably show more would never give a book like this the time of day. I have a good friend who happens to live in Bennie Thompson’s district in Mississippi. When he last visited, I mentioned how impressed I was with the way the congressman ran the January 6th Commission hearing sessions. My friend’s response was, “I didn’t see it.” It’s too bad that most Republicans probably feel this way. One of the most jarring things Liz Cheney said was that she never thought she would see the day when the Republican Party couldn’t be counted on the protect our republic, but that was the case now. This coming from one of the highest ranking Republicans in Congress….at least until she was primaried in the next election. If you are reading this review and you’re thinking, “I don’t want to read another book about Trump’s antics,” at least read (or, better yet listen to) the Epilogue of “Oath and Honor.” That chapter, even if you saw the hearings, is well worth the few minutes it takes to read. Liz Cheney sacrificed her political career to do what she did on the Jan. 6 commission. History will be much kinder to her than it will be to Donald Trump. show less

The biggest yikes for this one. It should have stood as a sobering historical account and a call to action for holding individuals accountable, politically and criminally. Unfortunately, I’m writing this just two days before Trump’s second inauguration, making the warnings in this book feel like a chilling prophecy instead. This memoir is incredibly well done, packed with personal and professional insights that left me in awe of Liz Cheney’s courage and fortitude. She details the events leading up to January 6, 2021, and the fallout that followed with clarity and urgency. I strongly recommend experiencing this as an audiobook, as it includes crucial, terrifying audio clips from January 6 alongside damning testimony from the show more investigation. The epilogue devastatingly lays out how freedom erodes under unchecked authoritarianism heading into the 2024 election. Listening to it now, it’s not a warning, it’s reality. As a Canadian, I feel a degree of removal, but it’s impossible to ignore how deeply America’s political actions impact the world, including us. This book is damning and upsetting. It’s motivating, but it also left me in a bit of despair knowing that the people who need its message most aren’t interested in hearing it. It’s a tough but crucial listen. show less

Liz Cheney and I are never going to see eye-to-eye on some issues. She is a Reagan Republican, setting him up next to Lincoln, in fact, whereas I think Reagan was one of the worst presidents we've had.

We easily agree on one thing, though: ours is a government of laws, not men. On this point we clearly separate from Donald Trump, especially the Trump we saw on January 6, 2021.

This book is about that day. Cheney tells us what went on in her life, as a Representative from Wyoming, in the months preceding January 6, on that day, and in the months and few years since then.

After the election of 2020, Cheney became aware of Trump's allegations that the election "had been stolen", that in fact it was a landslide victory for him. Investigation show more after investigation by states revealed that there had been no stolen election, no conspiracy. Trump's lawyers filed 63 suits, and won just one of them, and the results of that one were immaterial.

It became clear that Trump would not let up and he started to tweet messages about a "wild time" that would be had on January 6. January 6 was the day that the Congress officially counts the electoral votes, which have been certified by the states. There is no mystery about the day; the results are already known. It is a ministerial process. However, Trump, backed by a few (but not most) of his lawyers, suggested that there was a way to turn it around. He said the Vice-President could, acting as President of the Senate, refuse to count some of the votes, saying they are in question. When in fact none were in question.

The ploy was a last-ditch effort, after Trump's attempts to get some states to overturn their results, to keep the presidency.

We know how that went, but we don't necessarily know what it was like inside the Capital at the time. Cheney's report reveals that the danger was horrifyingly near, that a few prominent Republicans continued to back Trump's position, aiding the attackers by delaying the count, among other things. It was clear than and even clearer later that Trump was attempting a coup. This was an insurrection.

After January 6 many steps were taken to sort out what had happened. Several Republicans and right-wing media proclaimed that the violence was exaggerated, that it was just another day, ignoring the deaths and destruction in front of them. Liz Cheney was asked by speaker Pelosi to join the House Select Committee to investigate the events on January 6. The committee and its staff worked tirelessly and rapidly to interview everyone involved, to the extent possible, before holding hearings. Those hearings concluded with a report damning Trump in particular as the leader of the violent action on that day.

Throughout the book, Cheney makes clear her allegiance to her oath to the country, not to her party or to any one person. When speaking to a crowd in Wyoming in 2022, she said:

"I will never put party above my duty to the country. I will never put party above my duty to the Constitution. I swore an oath under God and I will abide by that oath. I won't say something that I know is wrong simply to earn the votes of people, to earn political support. So I'm asking for your vote, and I'm asking you to understand that I will never violate my oath of office. And if you're looking for somebody who will, then you need to vote for somebody else on this stage because I won't. I will always put my oath first."

Needless to say, she lost her seat in the midterm election. She was also demoted in the House by lead Republicans who don't see the oath the same way she does.

It's an important book and it leaves me wondering: how in hell is Trump still out of jail? show less

50 or so years ago I read ‘Profiles in Courage’ by John F Kennedy. Today there are few politicians that would have fit the profiles in that book, but Liz Cheney has to rank among those heroes. She has sacrificed her reputation and career because she sees Donald
Trump as an existential threat to our democracy. She takes us through the events leading up to the insurrection, what happened on that day, details of the work of the Jan 6th Committee, and finally the aftermath. She is clear in warning us about what could happen if Trump is elected again. Very powerful.

Today I watched the first day of former president Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial for election fraud surrounding his hush payments to a porn star. I have read several books about Trump, written mainly by journalists. I bought Oath and Honor to get perspective. I’m a Democrat, but I have voted for the other guys a few times and like to hear all sides of any issue. Liz is one of my favorite Republicans. Her book is a testament to her devotion to her oath of office and her determination to uphold the laws of this country. She meticulously documents the steps and hard work she and the other members of the January 6th committee took to bring the truth to the American people. Trump’s desire to end our republic is a story that is still show more playing out in real-time. I think many people in our country have been misled into believing lies through repeated propaganda spewed daily by certain news channels and social media. I’m not naïve enough to believe all politicians are truthful. Most measure what they tell the public against what they think they need to say to get re-elected. If you read a lot, you know this is nothing new. But, most members of the Republican party are perpetrating a massive lie to appease Trump. Their behavior is beyond anything we’ve seen in this country. I recommend that anyone concerned about this issue read this book and others and educate themselves so they can make an informed decision at the ballot box in November. show less

Wow. I unreservedly recommend this to all Americans interested in recent American history and current events. I listened to it as an audio book, read by Ms. Cheney with occasional quotes from people in their own voices, as originally broadcast. It is hard to listen to - not because of her voice or the production values, both of which are excellent - but because of the content. She writes well and clearly.

She introduces us to people she works with, and people who worked in the White House. Her focus is on what she experienced, and what others directly told her. Many of these things can be verified by listening to broadcasts, or reading the Congressional record, but some are conversations she had. Then she told the tale of January 6, show more 2021 from her perspective, and that of other people's later testimonies.

She tells us how the January 6 Congressional Investigation was staffed, how it was run, and what it revealed about who knew what, and when they knew it.
The final section has her mentioning that yes, she ran for reelection, but no, she did not expect to be re-elected to Congress. She was right. She also mentioned that for the first time in her life, she publicly endorsed a Democrat running for an office, in a Wyoming primary.

I disagree with her on many things, but I admire and respect her thanks to this book, and agree wholeheartedly with her on current dangers to democracy. She is principled. She is brave. show less

You're not going to find any new insurrection facts or evidence here. To me the book is more about the behind the scenes work of the committee and the very strong influence Liz Cheney had on the committee's strategy and success (if we consider success to be the evidence and story told of all trump's work to attempt to steal an election, not too successful if we consider the man is still running today and has a long list of die hard followers). I applaud Ms Cheney's courage to stand up for what's right at the cost of her career and safety of her family. As she notes in several examples a large number of her Republican peers were privately supporting her efforts while in public singing whatever tune the puppet master wanted.