Soon after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik did what many members of Congress did: The New York congresswoman issued a written press release condemning the violence.
“This is truly a tragic day for America,” Stefanik’s statement said. “I fully condemn the dangerous violence and destruction that occurred today at the United States Capitol. Americans have a Constitutional right to protest and freedom of speech, but violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable and anti-American. The perpetrators of this un-American violence and destruction must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The same press statement went on to thank law enforcement, the National Guard, and “the bipartisan professional staff of the United States Capitol for protecting the People’s House and the American people.”
But those interested in reading this press release on the GOP leader’s website will find that the link no longer works. The statement, which was here, has been taken down, replaced with text that now reads, “The page you have requested does not exist or is undergoing routine maintenance.”
So, what happened to the original? As Politico reported, Stefanik’s predecessor in the House Republican leadership has a few thoughts on the matter.
A bitter clash over the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack erupted between two prominent Republicans on Saturday, as Liz Cheney accused Rep. Elise Stefanik of covering up her past criticism of the Jan. 6 attack and branded Stefanik a “total crackpot.”
It was six days ago when the Wyoming Republican used social media to remind the public of Stefanik’s record. Linking to the New Yorker’s Jan. 6 statement, Cheney wrote, “This is what [Stefanik] said, in a rare moment of honesty, about the January 6 attack on our Capitol. One day she will have to explain how and why she morphed into a total crackpot. History, and our children, deserve to know.”
Soon after, the press release in question was gone.
What’s more, as of now, Stefanik’s press release archive only goes back to last year. According to Cheney, a week ago, the archive went back to 2015 — Stefanik’s first year on Capitol Hill — a claim bolstered by the Wayback Machine.
Is it possible that the incumbent House Republican Conference chair just happened to pull her Jan. 6 statement due to “routine maintenance”? Well, I don’t have definitive proof to the contrary, but I also think reasonable observers can agree that it’s quite a coincidence that Stefanik’s office overhauled its website after Cheney drew attention to Stefanik’s Jan. 6 statement.
To be sure, the larger dynamic is clear: The New York Republican is going to cringeworthy lengths to impress Donald Trump and his political operation, and she’s abandoned any sense of shame — even echoing the former president’s rhetoric about Jan. 6 criminals being “hostages.” Her accurate and sensible comments three years ago are now politically inconvenient as Stefanik rebrands herself as a more radical and reactionary politician.
But we still know what she wrote — and how far Stefanik has moved in the three years following the Capitol assault.
Ahead of the 2022 elections, a few too many Republicans scrambled to purge their official websites of their anti-abortion rhetoric. Ahead of the 2024 elections, how many Republicans will follow the same course on Jan. 6 as their party scrambles to rewrite recent history?