House Republicans Announce Committee To Re-Investigate January 6th Attack On Capitol
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File
After spending the past few days squirming and dodging while being questioned by reporters about President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters by saying it was time to move on, House Republicans are apparently not moving on at all, announcing a new select subcommittee to re-investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Within hours of his inauguration, Trump signed off on orders to pardon approximately 1,500 people, commute the sentences of fourteen more, and direct the Department of Justice to dismiss with prejudice (meaning the cases cannot legally be re-filed) any remaining indictments — a broad grant of freedom that applied to nearly all the Capitol rioters, even those charged or convicted of violently assaulting police officers and the ringleaders of the attack who were convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Several prominent Republicans, including Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), have criticized the inclusion of rioters who committed acts of violence against police officers, but overall, the tone from the GOP has been urging everyone to move on.
At a press conference Wednesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke about “redemption” and “second chances,” and said that while people could disagree about whether or not the rioters had paid enough of a penalty by being incarcerated, Trump had “made a decision.”
Therefore, Johnson continued, “We move forward. There are better days ahead of us. That’s what we’re excited about. We’re not looking backwards, we’re looking forwards.”
The very next question was about President Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons of his family members, and Johnson replied by saying it was “shocking” and vowed that the House “would be looking at it as well,” which is technically speaking, an activity that would involve looking backwards.
The House will take another look several years even further back, according to a press release announcing the creation of “a new select sub-committee” under the House Judiciary Committee that would “continue House Republicans’ investigation into all events leading up to and after January 6.”
The press release included a quote from Johnson touting how “proud” House Republicans were for “our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress,” and vowing that this new subcommittee would “continue our efforts to uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people.”
