Trump and GOP allies seek to halt Commission into Capitol Riot
Pollemix News – May 19, 2021
Donald Trump and his Republican acolytes rebuffed Democrat efforts to launch a formal Commission into the January 06 Capitol Riot with the former President releasing a statement on his website blasting the potential inquiry.
“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!”
Democrats are attempting to create a Benghazi-style formal Commission, with many lawmakers still scarred by the events of the day and intent on punishing those responsible. Chief among their targets is Trump, with long time nemesis Nancy Pelosi particularly determined to have the former President tarred and feathered as the instigator of the ensuing riots. This latest effort to punish Trump for the Capitol Riot comes on the heels of the 2nd Impeachment, which occurred after Trump had already left office and was widely considered a political misstep by the Democrats.
Operatives within the Democrat Party are more hopeful that the Commission will give them a wider berth allowing them to publicly depose a number of witnesses and establish whether Republican efforts to dispute the election results contributed to the atmosphere that led to the ensuing riots on the day. Aside from Trump himself, Democrats are perhaps most excited by the prospect of interrogating House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy who has flip-flopped on both the events of the day, the outcome of the election and his support for Trump. It was reported that during the Capitol Riot McCarthy was involved in a heated phone call with then President Trump, begging him to issue a statement to his followers urging them to discontinue their attack on the Capitol, with his plea seemingly falling on deaf ears until Trump released a short video message several hours later.
McCarthy tentatively confirmed the call in the days after the attack and was among the first Republicans to publicly congratulate Biden on winning the Presidential Election. More recently, however, McCarthy has become one of Trump’s staunchest allies after realizing that the GOP is now firmly in the grip of the Trump faction of the party. Understandably, being forced to testify over the alleged phone call would be politically damaging for McCarthy so he to is determined to avoid any further inquiry into the Capitol Riot, releasing a statement echoing Trump’s call to prevent the establishment of a Commission.
“Given the political misdirection that has 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.”
Even with Republican stonewalling Democrats do have enough votes to unilaterally appoint a Commission, however, they will face severe push back if they attempt to have former President Trump testify. Furthermore, since leaving office Trump has largely receded from the public eye so the Democrats will need to balance the political benefit of continuing to tie Trump to the Capitol Riot is worth providing him with the public exposure he craves and has more recently been denied.
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