Precis

Wyoming is the most pro-Trump state in the country. And respected Republican Liz Cheney is about to find out what that means. Despite consistently backing Trump in office, she’s now one of his staunchest critics, attacking him for refusing to concede defeat in the 2020 election, and for his actions on January 6. As she seeks her party’s nomination for a 4th term in Congress, Donald Trump is going all out to stop her, endorsing and campaigning for another candidate, who’s also switched sides.

January 6 committee hearings

00:10

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  It's the political drama that’s dividing a nation.  

00:14

Jan 6 riot footage

BENNY THOMPSON: January 6^th was an attack on our country,

00:18

a sitting president with a violent mob trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another.  

00:22

January 6 committee hearings

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: In the heart of America’s capital, a powerful group of lawmakers is exposing what really happened that day.  

00:37

Barr testimony

FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: "I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the President was bullshit."

00:45

Trump at podium

TRUMP: “Make no mistake, this election was stolen from you, from me and from the country.”

00:54

Cheney in committee hearing

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  At the centre of it, Republican royalty Liz Cheney. She's risking it all to take on her party and her former president.  

00:59

LIZ CHENEY: "Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible – there will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonour will remain. "

01:09

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: For her stand she's been cast out by her own, stripped of her leadership position and labelled a traitor. 

TRUMP:  “The people of Wyoming

01:21

Trump addresses rally

are going to tell her, Liz, you’re fired, get out of here.” 

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  Now, Cheney is on the verge of losing her Wyoming seat in Congress, when voters head to the polls in a few days.

01:33

Cheri driving

CHERI STEINMETZ: She’s been focused completely on the January 6^th commission when

01:49

Cheri interview

people here are worried about the price of food at the grocery store. 

01:54

Drone shot over Wyoming plain

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Thousands of kilometres from the political elites in Washington DC,

01:59

Diss to camera. Super:
Kathryn Diss
Reporter

Wyoming has found itself at the centre of a bitter battle for the soul of the Republican Party – the state with the smallest population and the lowest representation in government, has become symbolic of the deep fissures within the party.

02:05

Hageman in parade

MARY KAY:  It’s a battle between the Trump Republican Party and the Republican Party of the past.

02:22

Mary Kay 100%

I think it's dividing the community terribly. 

02:30

Title: Taking on Trump

Music

02:34

Wyoming cowboy GVs

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Welcome to the wild west state of Wyoming, where cowboys roam and vast wilderness surrounds. 

02:41

Wilderness, animals

Music

03:02

Eisele rounds up cattle

MARK EISELE : We only have 500,000 people in the entire state. I think there’s more antelope than there are people is the common saying. We feel unique because there aren't very many of us, and it's not

03:10

Eisele 100%

uncommon to run into the Governor in the grocery store or your neighbour at rodeo. 

03:26

Eisele with horse

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Mark Eisele was born and raised on a ranch on the outskirts of Wyoming’s capital, Cheyenne.  He’s a lifelong Republican, in a state where 70 per cent of voters backed Donald Trump in 2020.

03:32

MARK EISELE : I was a big supporter of President Trump. His policies in places like Washington, DC where I frequent,

03:50

Eisele interview

they were positive for the country. Very positive for Wyoming.

03:59

His personality, some people think he’s incredibly abrasive, but he’s a businessman and Wyoming and its economy is about business.

04:02

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: And who are you going to vote for?

MARK EISELE : I'm going to support Liz Cheney.

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Why?

04:10

MARK EISELE :She's very much in touch. She's very personable and she's very approachable. 

04:15

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Do you think that Ms Cheney’s stance on President Donald Trump will impact her ability to win here? 

MARK EISELE : It’s possible. A lot of folks really support her because she’s principled about it. If she really thinks something went on that was not right, it took a lot of courage to stand up and look into it. She might be wrong, she might be right.

04:19

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: How would you describe the state of the Republican Party in Wyoming?

MARK EISELE : It is probably not good. It’s a tough time here in Wyoming. We're going to have to see where the chips fall.   

04:40

Sunrise

Music

04:53

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  Wyoming Republicans will soon vote in the primary elections to choose the candidate they want to represent them in Washington, DC.

04:56

Photos. Cheney with Trump

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Liz Cheney was a supporter of Trump – she backed his legislation more than 90 per cent of the time.  But when she took him on over his stolen election lie,

05:07

'Ditch Liz' billboard

anger towards her grew.   

05:20

Cheney accompanied by security to debate

Now she’s receiving death threats. The candidates are meeting for a debate – security is tight, and the public has been excluded. As the incumbent, Liz Cheney is vying for a fourth term.

05:24

Cheney in debate

LIZ CHENEY: "There’s a real tragedy that’s occurring, and the tragedy is that there are politicians in this country, beginning with Donald Trump, who have lied to the American people, people have been betrayed."  We are now embracing a cult of personality and I won't be part of that, and I will always stand for my oath and stand for the truth. "

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: But this time the odds are stacked against her.

05:46

Hageman in debate

Trump is backing born and bred Wyomingite, Harriet Hageman.

06:12

HARRIET HAGEMAN:  "Well, it is wonderful to be here tonight, and I want to thank you for sponsoring this and for the audience being here."

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: In 2016, Hageman tried to block his nomination for president, now she’s singing his praises.

06:17

HARRIET HAGEMAN: "The people of Wyoming do not believe that they’re being represented in Congress right now, because our representative doesn’t come to Wyoming. She focuses an awful lot of time on the January 6^th committee but she's not addressing the issues that are important to Wyoming."

06:31

Debate participants

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  Trump’s endorsement has helped push her into the lead. 

06:45

Driving shots

 Music

06:51

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: We're heading to Liz Cheney’s corner of the state, the north-west. It's close to Yellowstone national park.   Ms Cheney’s lying low, but we managed to find some close family friends.

07:01

John and others ride

JOHN TURNER: It's just beautiful. The greenery. I bet the elk are hanging in down there. 

07:22

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: John Turner is old school Republican.  His family have owned property here for generations; he runs this tourist ranch with his wife Mary Kay.  

07:30

John and Mary Kay with horses

MARY KAY: "Is this a new horse?"  

JOHN: "Yeah, it's one of Chad's. I just renamed it. "

MARY KAY: "What did you name it?" 

JOHN: "They called him Sleeping Indian, I said, Raw Hide."

MARY KAY: "Oh, I like Raw Hide." 

07:43

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: The couple has only ever voted Republican. They backed Donald Trump, but their party they say, has lost its way. 

07:56

JOHN TURNER: I'm dismayed. I'm disturbed about what I see going on in certain political figures where

08:10

John 100%

we have these circular firing squads, we're too busy shooting each other.

08:18

John with kids

"Hi kiddos, you ready to go riding?"

08:22

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: John’s not just a curious observer, he’s deeply connected with the Republican Party.

JOHN TURNER:  I worked with a lot with the US Congress, both sides of the aisle, and

08:28

John 100%

I think the atmosphere was more congenial, respectful. People listened to one another, worked together – not necessarily always agreeing, but respecting one another’s positions.

08:39

John brushes and saddles horse

There are a lot of good Republicans that who are not happy with some of the things we see going on today.

"Well, old girl, you ready to go to work."

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: He held senior positions under both Bush administrations and worked with former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney at the State Department.

08:53

JOHN TURNER: I've known Liz for years and years. I saw in Liz, first of all,

09:13

John 100%

a real focus. My gosh, her record is so conservative. I know she's one of the most respected, informed and articulate voices in Washington. I think she’s important to Wyoming, on national security, on strong armed forces.

09:19

Music

09:36

Kathryn in home with Mary Kay

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Thank you for having us, what a beautiful house you have.

MARY KAY: Thank you.

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: How long have lived here?

MARY KAY:  25 years.

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: : Wow that’s a long time, it’s very peaceful and tranquil. So, what have we got here?

MARY KAY: Well, we've got some photographs.

09:40

Mary Kay and Kathryn look at photo album

For years, Liz has come to our ranch to ride, and came as a little girl when she was about eight or nine years old. And this is Liz and her father Vice President Cheney and John riding up for breakfast.  We value the family like the closest we have in friends.  And this is on the trail, there’s her dad.

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: For almost half a century the Cheney family has represented Wyoming in politics. But the political dynasty is now on rocky ground.

09:57

Mary Kay 100%

Do you think it's a battle between the Trump Republican Party and the establishment Republican? 

10:34

MARY KAY: I think it’s a battle between the Trump Republican Party, for sure, and the Republican Party of the past, the one I've always known and always supported all my life.

10:41

Wyoming mountains

I think it's dividing the community terribly.

10:53

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: The Turners are in the minority in Wyoming. Polls show that Republican support for Liz Cheney has crashed 40 per cent over the past two years.  

11:01

Cheri driving

CHERI STEINMETZ: We've only heard one side of things from the January 6th commission. The only thing that they talk about is their side of the issue. And we haven't heard much from the other side at all. 

11:12

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: 700 kilometres south-east of Cheney’s hometown is the small working class farming community of Torrington. 

11:27

CHERI STEINMETZ: There’s our Hageman for Congress sign that Corey put up yesterday. 

11:36

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  Cheri Steinmetz is a staunch Trump supporter and was elected as a state senator in 2014. She’s backing Liz Cheney’s opponent, Harriet Hageman. 

11:42

I don’t see a lot of signs showing support for Liz Cheney.  

11:54

CHERI STEINMETZ: Her support is lacking in Goshen County.  She was on main street, just a few doors down at one of her supporters, the only supporters I know of in Torrington. There were about three people in their store to greet her. And then she had the rest of the main street lined with Torrington police officers for her safety. Apparently, she's afraid of all of us. So yeah, all of us law abiding citizens.   I think she even knows that her days are numbered here in the state of Wyoming.   

11:58

Cheri 100%

She’s been just focused completely on the January 6^th commission when people here are worried about the price of food at the grocery store, the price of gas. Most of her time is being spent trying to convict Donald Trump.

12:41

La Grange ice cream social

Music

12:57

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: The nearby town of LaGrange is hosting an ice cream social put on by the local fire department.  It’s way for neighbouring communities to come together. 

13:09

CHERI STEINMETZ: A lot of new faces that I haven't seen before, yeah.  

12:23

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  I don’t find anyone supporting Ms Cheney’s race for re-election. 

13:26

Jeff Sharp 100%

JEFF SHARP:  She's an elitist, she's not pumping gas into her tank. She's not paying another buck and a half for a dozen eggs. So she just is not paying attention. I know there's this J6 thing and that's a joke and she's just doing it because Trump called her out. Rightfully so. 

13:32

Darin Smith at table with Cheri

DARIN SMITH:  I'm so excited. It'll be my privilege to cast my vote for Harriet Hageman, the Trump candidate, and see Cheney gone. We're going to throw her out and it'll be the best thing that ever happened to Wyoming and America.

13:54

Trump Wyoming rally

14:06

TRUMP: "This is MAGA country.   This is MAGA country. In fact, they gave us a new name. They made a little mistake with this one. This is ultra-MAGA country."

14:18

 KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: To make sure Cheney doesn't win the Republican nomination for Congress, Donald Trump is on the hustings in Wyoming.

14:31

TRUMP: "Liz Cheney hates the voters of the Republican Party and she has for longer than you would know. Wyoming deserves a Congresswoman who stands up for you and your values, not one who spends all of her time putting you down, going after your President in the most vicious way possible." 

14:43

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: He's here to throw his support behind Harriet Hageman.

15:02

Hageman addresses rally

HARRIET HAGEMAN: "I know Wyoming, I love Wyoming. I am Wyoming. And I will be taking that fight to DC just as soon as I defeat Liz Cheney. We're fed up with the January 6 commission and those people who think that they can gaslight us. And we’re fed up with Liz Cheney."

CHERI STEINMETZ: The crown, the building was shaking. They were so invigorated and so excited and most of them had Harriet Hageman signs in their hands, and I think

15:08

Cheri 100%

she's the best chance for the state of Wyoming as well, to have a voice at the national level.

15:57

Lander Independence Day celebrations. Hageman in parade

I think she will prevail. 

16:03

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: We’ve come to the town of Lander.  It's July fourth, America’s Day of Independence.  

16:14

With the election approaching, Harriet Hageman is looking like a winner.

16:28

Kathryn approaches Hageman

Ms Hageman, we’re from Australian TV, can we ask you some questions about your campaign? …Is that okay if we follow you then?

ASSISTANT: We’re here to talk to the people. We're in the middle of a parade right now. 

16:37

Music

16:54

ASSISTANT  We're trying to go talk to voters.

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Can we just ask you a couple of questions regarding the campaign?

ASSISTANT: I'm sorry, you're going to have to talk through Tim, Tim Murtaugh.  

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: We've already spoken to lots of people. Ms Hageman, have you got anything to say, just in relation to the race here?

HARRIET HAGEMAN: The race is going very, very well.   It's going very well.

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: So why take on Ms Cheney? 

17:13

HARRIET HAGEMAN: For all of the reasons I’ve said on the campaign, which is she’s not representing Wyoming. She’s not here today, she doesn’t represent Wyoming, she doesn't represent our values. In fact, she’s not really addressing any of the issues that are important to people in the United States of America; inflation, an open border, all of those things are so much more important than what she's doing. She’s focussing on things that are not important. The polls have come out. In Wyoming there was a reporter that interviewed 19 people in Wyoming, not one of them cared about January 6^th.  She's not doing what Wyoming wants her to do.

17:31

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  Do you think she’s a traitor like some people have branded her?  

ASSISTANT: We're going to go on about our day. Thank you so much.

HARRIET HAGEMAN:  I’ve answered some questions. 

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Thank you for your time, I appreciate it.

18:06

Jan 6 committee findings

Music

18:19

As Republican voters desert her, Liz Cheney remains undeterred. We came to Washington, DC to see her in action.

18:29

LIZ CHENEY: "We have covered significant ground over the past several weeks."

18:39

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: As vice chair and the most senior Republican on the January 6^th committee, Cheney has joined her Democrat colleagues in laying out their findings to the public.

18:43

LIZ CHENEY: "The committee has established key facts, including that virtually everyone close to President Trump, all told him the 2020 election was not stolen."

18:54

Crown marches on Capitol. Jan 6

19:07

JAMIE RASKIN: "Donald Trump issued a Tweet that would galvanise his followers, unleash a political firestorm.

19:18

Raskin delivers committee findings

On January 6, Trump knew the crowd was angry, he knew the crowd was armed. He sent them to the Capitol anyway."

19:25

Jan 6 riot footage plays to committee

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Their investigation has uncovered new and shocking footage.

19:32

Cheney

LIZ CHENEY: "And Donald Trump cannot escape responsibility by being wilfully blind."

19:41

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: In rare bipartisanship, Cheney has become an unlikely ally of leading Democrat, Jamie Raskin. He's sat alongside her through days of bruising testimony.

19:47

Kathryn meets with Raskin

I caught up with him during a recess in the committee’s hearings.  

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for giving us the time.  

JAMIE RASKIN: You bet. Nice to see you.

20:02

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: You’re all facing a lot of heat from this, no more than Liz Cheney.  She's been outcast by her own party. She's been labelled a traitor her by her own party and also by the people in Wyoming. What does she stand to lose? 

20:14

Raskin 100%

JAMIE RASKIN:  I mean, just her country and the democracy, you know. I think that Liz is a constitutional patriot and she is showing people how you rise above your political party. There are lots of death threats out there and there are a lot of guns out there and Liz is hanging tough and she's being brave.

20:26

All of us are devoted to getting to the truth. Those of us who are on the January 6th select committee are brothers and sisters in this pursuit for the truth about what happened. 

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: We've just been on the ground in Wyoming.

20:50

I can tell you they're not watching it.

21:03

JAMIE RASKIN: It is a sad thing that there is some number of people in the country who are so propagandised and so indoctrinated and so brainwashed that they can't even hear the truth from people in their party. So I mean, that's a question for cognitive psychologists and cult deprogrammers. 

21:04

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Is the purpose to eventually end up in criminal charges against Donald Trump? 

JAMIE RASKIN: I want to make sure that

21:27

American democracy survives and that is a proposition that odds with Donald Trump ever getting anywhere near the White House again. 

21:33

Wyoming GVs

Music

21:43

Landon at barbecue

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Back in Wyoming, there are some Republicans who feel completely under siege. 35 year old Landon Brown has been a Wyoming state politician for six years.

LANDON BROWN: I'm a Republican and I support Liz Cheney and, you know, I've taken a lot of barbs

21:50

Landon 100%

as an elected official for that over the past year and a half. It's been a kind of a rough road.

22:13

Brandon with family and friends at lunch

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  His family and friends are divided over the attention given to the Capitol riots compared to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.

22:18

WOMAN: I don't think he was responsible for inciting violence or an insurrection. I guarantee you, if it was an insurrection, it would've been probably the Capitol would've burned down.

LANDON BROWN: What do you think stopped it from burning down?

WOMAN: It wasn't violent. It wasn't a violent, intentional, we're going to go destroy everything like we saw all summer with the riots of 2020. We're totally ignoring all of that and focusing on this one, this one incident.

22:32

WOMAN: My problem with January 6th is if you're going to go after, you know, Trump and whoever was involved with that, you better go after the other side just as hard, because my city burned and nobody did anything.

23:08

LANDON BROWN: What I don’t want to see and what I'm scared of, is I don't want to see another president, period, have the influence that Donald Trump had over our electoral process. That’s the crap that scares me, trying to stop an electoral count, trying to go down that way of saying, nope, I won, this is all rigged, with little to no proof. Losing 60 plus court battles, all those types of things.

23:23

It's like is anybody actually okay with the freakin fact that Donald Trump lost but refuses to admit it?  Beyond Trump, what do you feel that Cheney has not done to represent you?

23:50

MAN: She's done a lot of, a lot of great things, but she lost all of my trust when – and all of my respect – when she went after, you know, former President Trump because of that, when she went after him for that, like, I think that's no longer representing the people of Wyoming. 

24:04

Fourth of July fireworks

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: After he publicly supported Liz Cheney, Landon received many death threats. 

24:19

Landon watches fireworks

LANDON BROWN: I, in no way envisioned being in a situation where my serving meant that I was going to be verbally abused

24:28

Landon 100%

and put in a position where, not only was I being verbally abused, but verbally attacked and even threatened. 

24:35

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: You almost didn't run for another term. Why? 

LANDON BROWN: I was sick of the politics. I was sick of being threatened. I was sick of every morning, waking up either to an email, a text message,

24:42

Fireworks

a voicemail. I can’t imagine what some of these other people, you know, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger these people that are literally are out there in the national media; thick skin only goes so far.

24:54

Wyoming mountains

Music

25:12

Town of Wilson GVs

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Shared enemies create unusual alliances. As election day looms, polls are so bad for Liz Cheney; she’s hoping Democrats from her local town will come out to support her.

25:19

Mike Fisher

Mike Fisher’s one of them; he's registered to vote for her in the Republican primary race.

25:33

MIKE FISHER: The world needs more people like her that stand up for what's going on. I think, I think she's extremely commendable. Like, five years ago, I never would've voted for her, not in a million years. But now, I wouldn't vote for anybody else. 

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter: Thank you so much for your time, Mike, I appreciate that.

25:39

Return to Turners' ranch

Music

26:25

MARY KAY TURNER: I would be so sorry

26:09

Mary Kay 100%

to see someone like Liz Cheney lose, because it's more than Liz Cheney that loses. We lose a lot of Republicans like her and her thinking that care a great deal for our country, not just for one person, a former president, he had his time, he was defeated. We have to move on. 

26:11

Wyoming town/Cheri in clothing tore

CHERI STEINMETZ: I've become that person.  It’s Trump country here, and his policies were great for the state of Wyoming. So I think we’re going to see a record turnout. It is a truly transformational race, not just a critical one,

26:31

Cheri 100%

but I think it is transformational for our country.

26:54

Transition to Capitol building, night

Music

26:57

Committee members enter

KATHRYN DISS, Reporter:  Liz Cheney's put her political career on the line. She’ll know her fate in five days. If she loses, it will tighten Donald Trump’s grip over the party and his brand of populist politics. 

27:08

Cheney addresses committee

LIZ CHENEY: Thank you very much Mr Chairman. Judge Luttig, thank you as well for being here with us today. You issued a very important statement earlier today, which I urge all Americans to read.

27:34

Moon over Capitol building Credits [see below]

27:44

Outpoint

28:05