House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she’ll create a special committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The California Democrat’s announcement signals an end to the effort to create an independent bipartisan commission to investigate the incident that Republicans mostly opposed.
“Jan. 6 was one of the darkest days in our nation’s history,” Pelosi said. “It is imperative that we establish the truth of that day and ensure an attack of that kind cannot happen and we determine the root causes of it all.”
The committee is likely to be populated by Democrats due to GOP opposition to the panel.
While dozens of House Republicans and six Senate Republicans backed a commission, most opposed it because they believed Democrats would use the panel as a political weapon against the GOP and to continue to attack former President Donald Trump.
Republicans said an independent commission would be redundant. Two Senate committees are currently investigating the attack, and the Justice Department is pursuing criminal cases against the rioters.
Pelosi said she is “hopeful” there may still be a commission “at some point,” and she said the select committee’s purpose is “about seeking and finding the truth.”
The Democrat-led House passed a resolution to create a commission in May. Senate Republicans blocked the measure using the 60-vote threshold.
That panel was to produce a report by the end of the year and disband within 60 days of issuing a final report.
The select committee has no end date, which means the investigation could extend into the critical midterm election season.
Pelosi said the committee can operate “as long as it takes for them … to investigate the cause of this.”
Pelosi said the select committee would have dual purposes and would investigate “the root causes, the white supremacy, the antisemitism, the Islamophobia” that she said was evident during the riot. The panel will also investigate the security of the Capitol, which was unable to prevent the rioters from storming the building.
Pelosi said she remains hopeful Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, will appoint members to the committee. McCarthy opposed the commission.
“It’s clear the Republicans are afraid of the truth,” Pelosi said.
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Tags: News, Congress, U.S. Capitol Building, Nancy Pelosi, Riots
Original Author: Susan Ferrechio
Original Location: Pelosi announces special committee to investigate Jan. 6 riot
