House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,who says she feared a mob would kill her during the violence at the capitol on Jan. 6, may examine a House select committee, rather than a 9-11 style commission, to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Currently at an impasse in negotiations, Pelosi on Tuesday told USA Today that this type of committee is “always an option. It’s not my preference in any way. My preference would be to have a commission.”
The Democrats have proposed a group that would include seven members from their caucus and only four Republicans, however House GOP members are not pleased with that structure.
Pelosi and other Democrats are also hoping to expand the scope of the probe beyond a review of what led to the riot. In February, The Hill reported Pelosi saying any investigation needs to answer questions “relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power, including facts and causes relating to the preparedness and response of the United States Capitol Police and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the National Capitol Region.”
In a Feb. 24 speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushed back against Pelosi’s plan, saying, “The Speaker of the House proposes even more investigation through a new commission. She cites the precedent of the 9/11 Commission. But her draft bill fails to track with that precedent in key ways. This time, Speaker Pelosi started by proposing a commission that would be partisan by design.”
Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, asked by The Hill about the seven to four makeup of the proposed commission, said, “We do not owe delusional deniers a role or a platform in a commission designed to try to ferret out extremism and violence to prevent its recurrence. They’re denying that the Trump mob was the Trump mob.
“These people are dangerous,” Connolly added.
Connolly’s remarks were aimed at Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin who said in March that he had not been frightened on Jan. 6, but he “may have been a little concerned” if the protestors has been members of Black Lives Matter or Antifa.
Democrats immediately pounced on Johnson’s remarks saying they were racist.
In an interview on Fox News’ Primetime, Johnson defended his remarks, saying, “It’s completely been blown out of proportion. There’s nothing racial in my comments whatsoever. The left is happy to use the race card whenever they can. This is about riots and rioters and leftist activists and anarchists.”
Source: Newmax
