 On February 15, 2021 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that Congress would establish an independent, September 11-style commission to “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex…and relating to the transfer of power.” The House passed the bill on May 19, 2021, mostly along party lines. This past Friday the bill failed in the Senate by a vote of 54-35, short of the 60 votes needed to pass. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues were successful in blocking the formation of the independent commission. What do they gain from this move, and is it in the best interests of America?  Purpose of an Independent Commission: Independent fact-finding commissions after major historical events are not new. They were used to investigate the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Similar to the commission formed in response to the attacks on September 11, it would consist of a panel of ten independent experts, evenly split between Republican and Democratic appointees, who would investigate the events of January 6, 2021 on a full-time basis. The commission would have full authority to subpoena witnesses and broad authority to pursue and connect various lines of inquiry. It would compile a single comprehensive record for American history, and hopefully provide some closure for the American people. The primary purpose of the commission is to get at the truth. Being independent and bipartisan, it is much more likely to provide the facts that Americans will trust. Any reports that result from the various congressional investigations now underway will likely be viewed through a partisan lens.  Aren’t Existing Investigations Enough: There are currently several investigations underway by various governmental departments looking at different aspects of the Capitol riot. The Justice Department is investigating and prosecuting hundreds of individual rioters, inspectors general are examining their agency's response to the riot, and various congressional committees are looking into the Capitol riot. The Justice Department’s investigation is one of the largest criminal inquiries in U.S. history, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/29/us/capitol-attack-inquiry.html. But each of the 450 or so defendants are being charged as individuals for specific crimes that they may have committed. Most of these criminal cases will be resolved through plea deals and never end up in court with questioning under oath. The Justice Department is not tasked with big picture issues like what motivated the riot, were the rioters coordinated, were members of Congress involved, and how does Donald Trump fit into all of this.  There is a joint investigation underway by the Senate Homeland Security Committee and the Rules Committee. These committees are investigating the actions of the Capitol Police, the Defense Department, and the broad government response to the violence at the Capitol on January 6. But here again, the investigations are narrowly focused on questions of policing and security. Questions about the political motivations of the mob, and the role of the president and members of Congress will be ignored. Another limitation with congressional investigations is the limitations on the committee members themselves. Members of Congress are often pulled away from investigative work to address the ongoing business of the Congress. Inspectors general at the Pentagon, Justice Department, and Capitol Police Department are all examining their agency’s response leading up to and during the Capitol riot. These examinations will be narrowly focused on the specifics of their departments and not coordinated with other agencies. They are too narrowly focused to get to the truth that the American people need, and may leave many questions unanswered.  Unanswered Questions Remain: Now that the Republicans have blocked the establishment of an independent commission, the full story surrounding the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 may never be known. Here are some of the key unanswered questions:
 Why Republicans Blocked the Commission: Plain and simple, the Republicans put the good of their party ahead of the good of the country. Donald Trump is the de facto head of the Republican Party, and anything that discredits him, damages the party. Donald Trump openly opposed establishment of the independent commission. Out of loyalty or fear, most Republicans went along with his wishes. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is no fan of Donald Trump, but his party loyalty outweighs his animosity towards him. McConnell is shrewd enough to know than an independent investigation of January 6 would put Donald Trump back into the spotlight and expose the consequences of his lie that the election had been stolen from him. In voting against the commission, McConnell called it redundant, and said, “I do not believe the additional extraneous commission that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing.” I guess we will never know thanks to Mitch and his Republican colleagues. Soon after the Capitol riot, McConnell and fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham went on the record by stating that Donald Trump had culpability in the riot, and that a 9/11 style commission should investigate, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/15/us-capitol-attack-commission-9-11-style-trump. I guess they have changed their tune knowing that Trump is still in charge. Ever the politician, McConnell has succeeded in turning the focus back to opposing the Biden Administration’s agenda, and taking back the Senate in the 2022 mid-term elections.  What’s Next: With so many unanswered questions and the threat that the Capitol riot posed to our democracy, the Democrats will not let it go. Democratic leaders Schumer and Pelosi are now planning to create a select committee to investigate the Capitol riot. What good this will do is anyone’s guess. But clearly it will not be as bipartisan and independent as a 9/11 style commission would be. Since both Houses of Congress are controlled by the Democrats, it could prove to be a strategic mistake by the Republicans. The Republicans want to downplay the events of January 6, 2021 and move on, but the Democrats, and all fair-minded Americans, won’t let them.  As Andrew Young once said, “There can be no democracy without truth”. The purpose of the independent commission to investigate the Capitol riot was to establish the truth. But that has been denied to the American people. We owe it to the Capitol Police officers who were killed or injured that day to find the truth. After the 9/11 attacks the country came together, put partisanship aside, and put a commission together to get to the truth. Have we changed so much as a country in just the past 20 years? Apparently, we have. Politics has once again trumped the good of the country.
Capitol Riot Update: July 21, 2021 Select Committee Approved to Investigate Capitol Riot: On June 25, 2021 the House of Representatives approved legislation to create a select committee to investigate the January 6th Capitol Riot. Only two Republicans voted in favor of the legislation, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. The select committee will have eight members selected by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and five members by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The committee will have subpoena power to order witnesses to testify. The committee’s main task is to investigate “the facts, circumstances and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack”. The committee is also charged with looking into the law enforcement and government response to the storming of the Capitol and the factors that fomented such an attack. The committee has no set end date to report its findings, conclusions and recommendations for preventing such attacks in the future. Pelosi Announces Her Picks for the Select Committee: On July 1st, Nancy Pelosi announced that she had picked the following eight Representatives for the committee: Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), selected as Chairman of the committee. Adam Schiff (D-California) Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) Zoe Lofgren (D-California) Pete Aguilar (D-California) Elaine Luria (D-Virginia) Stephanie Murphy (D-Florida) Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming). This is the most surprising pick. But upon closer inspection, maybe not. Liz Cheney was ousted from her Republican leadership position for criticizing former President Donald Trump for his lies about the stolen election and his role in the Capitol riot. McCarthy Announces His Picks for the Select Committee: On July 19th, Kevin McCarthy announced the following five GOP nominees to the Democrat led select committee: Jim Banks (R-Indiana), ranking member. Rodney Davis (R-Illinois) Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) Kelly Armstrong (R-North Dakota) Troy Nehls (R-Texas) Pelosi Rejects Two of McCarthy’s Picks: Today(July 21, 2021) Nancy Pelosi rejected two of Kevin McCarthy’s picks, Jim Jordan and Jim Banks. Pelosi saw these two Trump loyalists as impediments to the integrity of the committee’s investigation. She is probably correct, but she has handed the Republicans ammunition to their claim that the committee will lead a partisan attack on Trump and his supporters in an attempt to damage the Republican brand. To that I say that the Republicans had their chance for a bipartisan commission, but they rejected it in the Senate. It is no surprise that McCarthy slammed Pelosi’s move. "Unless Speaker Pelosi reverses course and seats all five Republican nominees, Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts," McCarthy said. Democrats have pledged to move forward with the committee’s work and the first hearing will begin next week. Stay tuned. Capitol Security Six Months Later: This past weekend the metal fencing and concrete barriers that encircled the Capitol were removed. The Capitol grounds are now open again to visitors and pedestrians, but the Capitol building remains closed to the public. The House passed a $1.9 billion security bill in May to strengthen the Capitol building, add additional surveillance, and other measures. The Senate Democrats have introduced their own version which includes additional funding to aid Afghans who supported US efforts in Afghanistan and COVID protections for the Department of Defense. The price tag for this proposal is $3.7 billion and is unlikely to get much Republican support. On-Going Investigation: To date approximately 550 people have been arrested for taking part in the Capitol riot. Charges for those arrested include unlawful entry, vandalism, conspiracy and assault. So far twenty people have plead guilty, mainly to misdemeanors, but only three have been sentenced. The most serious being Paul Hodgkins from Florida, who pleaded guilty to a single felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding before Congress. Mr. Hodgkins was sentenced this month to eight months in prison. Law enforcement officials are still trying to identify over 300 suspects who were captured on video at the Capitol on January 6th. If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American
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