More than six months after the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump, lawmakers launched a specially created inquiry into the riot via a select committee, starting with a dramatic and graphic video if the events of January 6.
“Some people are trying to deny what happened, whitewash it, turn the insurrectionists into martyrs, but the whole world saw the reality of what happened on January 6,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who is chairing the committee. “…We cannot allow ourselves to be undone by liars and cheaters.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), one of two Republicans on the committee, said, “We cannot leave the violence of January 6 and its causes uninvestigated. The American people deserve the full and open testimony of every person who knowledge of the planning and preparation for January 6.
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She said that if those who were not responsible were not held accountable, “this will remain a cancer on our constitutional republic. We will face the threat of more violence in the months to come, and another January 6 every four years.”
With coverage from broadcast and cable networks, as well as the attention of much of Beltway media, Democrats were assured a platform from which to remind viewers not to forget what happened that day, even as Trump’s allies have tried to focus attention on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or even minimize the nature of the siege.
“These are elected officials in high office who a pretending none of it happened,” said Charles Ramsey, law enforcement analyst for CNN, referring specifically to a GOP House member who claimed that the rioters were merely seeking a tour of the building.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), one of the lawmakers who Pelosi nixed from the committee, appeared on Fox News just before it started and questioned why Capitol Police were not more prepared. “All of this happened on Nancy Pelosi’s watch. She doesn’t want that line of questioning to occur.”
The Select Committee on January 6 is to feature dramatic testimony from four members of law enforcement who tried to defend the Capitol that day, against an angry mob who, with Trump’s encouragement, had marched to the Capitol following a rally at the Ellipse. Trump was impeached by the House for inciting the insurrection, as he encouraged to march on the Capitol as lawmakers were set to certify the electoral vote count.
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) opened the hearing by noting the effort of the mob to stop the certification of the election. “A peaceful transfer of power did not happen this year. It did not happen. Let that sink in,” he said. “…It was a scene of violence in the citadel of democracy not seen…since 1814.”
He then played the video, laced with profanity, scenes of a mob rushing through halls, breaking windows and overrunning police officers.
