Marco Rubio Opposes 1/6 Commission, Calls It a ‘Partisan Joke’ Trying to ‘Damage Republicans’

Senator Marco Rubio (R- FL) said Friday he opposes the commission to look into the January 6th riots at the Capitol.

Rubio posted a video Friday afternoon decrying the commission, saying it’s just a partisan effort to hurt Republicans.

He insisted “there’s no cover-up here, we already know what happened January 6th,” and pointed to the investigations already underway.

“There’s plenty of attention being paid to this,” Rubio said. “Not to mention that the media doesn’t stop talking about it.”

As the senator explained in his Twitter video, the commission stipulates you need Democrats and Republicans to agree in order to issue a subpoena.

The problem with that for Rubio is that Democrats can use that to get “a story out there saying” some Democrat wants to subpoena an individual “but they can’t because Republicans are blocking it.”

“The story would be Republicans are covering up the investigation… So that’s what this is about, it’s about damaging Republicans,” he said. “This is a partisan joke.”

Last night I read the bill creating a January 6th commission

It isn’t designed to produce a serious inquiry

It’s designed to be used as partisan political weapon

I am a no pic.twitter.com/5T6l0Dkb9z

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 21, 2021

Rubio was roundly criticized for this reasoning:

When you have to explain this much, you're losing. You seem scared.

— Rachel Vindman (@natsechobbyist) May 21, 2021

The bad faith here is comical.

Rubio actually says the even division for subpoenas is biased against Rs, because if a subpoenaed GOP witness refuses it will create bad press for him!

And not a word on what *he* would see as a fair commission. Because he doesn't want one at all. https://t.co/2vcE1TMBVV

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 21, 2021

Bullshit. You don’t support a serious inquiry. https://t.co/hsNsewWYG7

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 21, 2021

It’s so weird that every Republican elected official wishes they were Mollie Hemingway instead. Being a media critic is now the highest calling. https://t.co/tFxAcp5MG5

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) May 21, 2021

I would be curious to see Rubio's vision of a commission that would produce a "serious inquiry." What would it look like? https://t.co/idzbVM9GC9

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) May 21, 2021

Urge everyone to actually read the bill: https://t.co/9SVjs2iNyB

You tell me if you think a commission equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, with both parties having the same powers, is designed to be a "partisan political weapon." https://t.co/HA0rZCorSE

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) May 21, 2021

Oh so the bipartisanship is the partisanship. Diabolical! I guess John Katko was just too gullible to figure this out. https://t.co/p2hrcra04K pic.twitter.com/xokdrOlaRP

— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) May 21, 2021

You should probably direct this to @RepJohnKatko who co-wrote the bill and secured all the Republican concessions that @GOPLeader demanded.

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) May 21, 2021

https://t.co/NgZkr6yu1s pic.twitter.com/kmRNqzcVJP

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 21, 2021