JUST IN: Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Comes Out in Opposition to Bipartisan January 6th Commission
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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has come out in opposition to a previous and bipartisan agreement on a 9/11-style commission to investigate the events of January 6th.
McCarthy is thought by many to play a feature role in the investigation as he reportedly called former President Donald Trump amid the siege on the Capitol building by Trump’s supporters eager to disrupt the Electoral College certification process. McCarthy’s call was reportedly a profanity-laced urging by the California Republican and ranking member of the GOP Caucus.
“There are ongoing bipartisan investigations into all facets of the January 6 events occurring inside the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, as well as the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration,” a statement from McCarthy’s offices says, suggesting another investigation would be redundant. “Additionally, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol has been allocated $10 million to conduct a full, apolitical review into ways to remedy any security vulnerabilities that exist in the Capitol complex.”
Last week the Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) announced an agreement with Republican Ranking Member John Katko (R-NY) to introduce legislation to form an “independent commission to investigate the January 6 domestic terrorism attack on the United States Capitol and recommend changes to further protect the Capitol, citadel of our democracy.”
McCarthy’s opposition to the commission undermines Katko’s agreement and will likely signal opposition from other House Republicans who have gone on record as seeing very little wrong with the insurrection on January 6th, saying it was “normal” behavior of “peaceful patriots.”
Read the full statement from McCarthy below:
‘While the Speaker has wasted time playing political games, numerous Congressional and intergovernmental agency efforts have picked up the slack. There are ongoing bipartisan investigations into all facets of the January 6 events occurring inside the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, as well as the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Additionally, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol has been allocated $10 million to conduct a full, apolitical review into ways to remedy any security vulnerabilities that exist in the Capitol complex.
“Most notably, the Department of Justice has announced 445 arrests in conjunction with the events of January 6, and expect 100 more arrests to follow. The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate any and all crimes committed that day, and I fully support these individuals being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Unfortunately, the legislation being considered in the House this week is drafted in such a way that could interfere with and ultimately undermine these ongoing prosecutorial efforts — just one byproduct of a process that circumvents committee markup and is expected to come to the House Floor under a closed rule.
“Finally, the renewed focus by Democrats to now stand up an additional commission ignores the political violence that has struck American cities, a Republican Congressional baseball practice, and, most recently, the deadly attack on Capitol Police on April Z 2021. The presence of this political violence in American society cannot be tolerated and it cannot be overlooked. I have communicated this to our Democrat colleagues for months and its omission is deeply concerning.
“Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker’s shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation.”
