GOP Rep. Denounces ‘Active Effort to Whitewash’ Capitol Riots: We Need Commission to ‘Clear Away Myths and Fictions’

Congressman Peter Meijer (R-MI), one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump, took to the House floor Wednesday in support of the 1/6 commission.

House GOP leadership has recommended members vote against it, but some Republicans have made it clear they’re supporting the commission — including Meijer, Fred Upton, and John Katko. (Katko is the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee that reached a bipartisan agreement on the commission with Chairman Bennie Thompson.)

Meijer said in his House floor speech the idea of such a commission is not and “should not be treated as” a partisan issue.

“A violent mob breached this building to disrupt the lawful presidential transition and threaten the lives of Vice President Pence and members of Congress,” he said. “That this mob attacked the Capitol with the encouragement of prominent elected officials is a chilling reminder of President Reagan’s warning that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

Meijer did not call out anyone in particular, but he went on to excoriate those who would whitewash or brush aside the attack on the Capitol:

Many who rightly criticized and condemned the attack that day have walked back their words or softened their speech. But even more troubling, there has been an active effort to whitewash and rewrite the shameful events of that day to avoid accountability and turn away from difficult truths. If we avoid confronting what happened here just a few short months ago, we can be sure that intimidation, coercion, and violence will become a defining feature of our politics.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both said months ago that Trump bears responsibility for the Capitol attack, though they declined to (respectively) vote to impeach or convict him. In the past day, both McCarthy and McConnell have publicly said they oppose the legislation to establish the commission.

Meijer said in his remarks, “There is no replacement for an independent, bipartisan commission with a mandate to produce a definitive report to the public, to clear away myths and fictions and get right on the facts.”

You can watch above, via C-SPAN.

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