Pelosi calls GOP’s bluff on Jan 6th probe: We’ll do it without you
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) isn’t about to let Republicans shirk Congress’s responsibility to investigate the insurrection that had hordes of MAGA-hatted Trump supporters smearing excrement on the walls of their workplace as they rioted in the halls of the Capitol and caused the deaths of five people.
Attempting to defend the lengths with which Democrats have attempted to reach a bipartisan agreement on an independent commission to probe the terrorist attack of January 6th, Pelosi told journalists at a press conference today that her party had made enough concessions to the GOP already as they sought to negotiate an acceptable solution with Republicans.
“We wouldn’t budge on the purpose to examine what happened on January 6,” Pelosi vowed.
“Congress has a clear and urgent responsibility to come to the truth of what happened and ensure that this can never happen again,” Pelosi stated while warning that she could abandon her attempts at including the GOP in the process if they continue to obstruct the aims of seeking all the circumstances that led to the insurrection.
“But that’s not the path we have chosen to go,” Pelosi declared, emphasazing that “I don’t want to” while clearly threatening that “if they don’t want to do this, we will.”
“We will find the truth,” she added with determination.
The GOP would be wise to head Pelosi’s threats since as Speaker of the House with a Democratic majority she has the power to establish a House investigation of the events leading up to and the people involved in planning the “Stop the Steal” rally that devolved into the violent invasion of Congress.
Any investigation that the House would embark on without Republican cooperation would still have full subpoena power that would be difficult for Republicans to try to evade now that the Executive Branch of government in Democratic control.
Pelosi’s comments come after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) declared his opposition to the proposal for an independent commission to investigate the events of January 6th, just a day after saying that he might be open to the idea and suspiciously soon after the former guy, Donald Trump, denounced the idea as a partisan witch hunt and a “Democrat trap.”
The GOP opposition to a panel modeled on the independent commission that was convened in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is being seen by many people as a sign that Republicans are frightened of what may be discovered by investigators as they try to protect Trump — now their uncontested party leader — and themselves.
This is particularly true when we already have seen proof of ties between the organizers of the “Stop the Steal” rally and congress members in their caucus, with Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) ripe for investigation.
Other GOP politicians whose behavior is likely to come under scrutiny are those who have been seen palling around with Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters — violent, extremist right-wing militias whose members allegedly helped instigate the storming of the Capitol.
Most prominent among this group are Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) with other vocal Trump supporters like Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) also worth investigating.
While Republicans do their best to impede the creation of the independent investigatory commission, Democrats got an encouraging endorsement for its establishment from the chair and vice-chair of the 9/11 commission.
“The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was one of the darkest days in the history of our country. Americans deserve an objective and an accurate account of what happened. As we did in the wake of September 11, it’s time to set aside partisan politics and come together as Americans in common pursuit of truth and justice,” a statement from former Governor Tom Kean and former Congressman Lee Hamilton declared.
If we Americans do get the truth and justice that we deserve, it won’t be because of any GOP assistance, that much is already perfectly clear.
If there are any consequences forthcoming, we can thank Nancy Pelosi for her persistence in seeking the truth in the face of Republican obstruction.
You can watch a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s press conference today right here.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
Original reporting by Grace Segers at CBS News.
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