Former President Trump encouraged Republicans May 18 to stop their discussions with Democrats about the commission that is set to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol breach that took place during the electoral college proceedings.
In his statement, Trump said, “Republicans in the House and Senate should not approve the Democrat trap of the January 6 Commission. It is just more partisan unfairness and unless the murders, riots and fire bombings in Portland, Minneapolis, Seattle, Chicago and New York are also going to be studied, this discussion should be ended immediately. Republicans must get much tougher and much smarter, and stop being used by the radical left. Hopefully, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are listening!”
The bill, HR 3233, is endorsed by the “Problem Solvers Caucus,” who aim to be a bipartisan group of 29 Democrats and 29 Republican congress members that are committed to forging bipartisan cooperation on key issues.
The commission created by the bill will consist of 10 members, five Republicans and five Democrats, and would issue a final report on the facts related to the attempted insurrection. It will also provide recommendations to ensure an event like the one that happened on Jan. 6 can never take place again.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “For months, the Speaker of the House refused to negotiate in good faith on basic parameters that would govern a commission to examine the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. During this time, the Speaker even falsely claimed in the press that she had delivered Republicans a counterproposal, when in reality her proposal would not surface until weeks later. To be clear, Republican requests for fair representation and an unbiased premise from which to begin such an investigation were always understood to be the starting point for bipartisan negotiations, not the end result.”
He continued, “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.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has also issued a statement in opposition the commission, calling it “slanted” and “unbalanced.”
In related news, regarding the Jan. 6 events, a never-before seen video from inside the Capitol building has recently been made public. It shows protesters and police cooperating. A masked officer is heard telling the protesters that “We’re not against you” and, “you need to show us, no attacking, no assault, remain calm.”
A protester with a megaphone directed the crowd, “The police here are willing to work with us and cooperate peacefully—like our First Amendment allows. [Let’s] gather peacefully to discuss what needs to be done to save our country. We are going to be heard: Everybody, this must be peaceful!”
Another protester, Jacob Chansley, recognized by the Viking horned hat, yelled to the crowd of protesters, “This has to be peaceful and we have the right to peacefully assemble.”
After Jan. 6, Chansley was arrested and has been detained since January. He is awaiting trial and has been denied bail.
The Capitol police have responded to the video, saying, “There is no evidence of misconduct [by police] in the short video clip” and “The officers are blocking the hallway and attempting to deescalate the situation, as they are trained to, by telling the crowd to not attack or assault and to remain calm.” {eoa}
John Matarazzo is a digital content specialist for Charisma Media, reports for the Charisma News Podcast and is the host of AlongTheWay on the Charisma Podcast Network.
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