Republicans block the creation of an independent
inquiry into the Jan. 6 riot.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/05/28/us/biden-news-today
Republicans
on Friday blocked the creation of an independent commission to investigate the
Jan. 6 Capitol riot, using their filibuster power in the Senate for the first
time this year to doom a full accounting for the deadliest attack on Congress
in centuries.
With the
vast majority of Republicans determined to shield their party from potential
political damage that could come from scrutiny of the storming of the Capitol
by a pro-Trump mob, only six G.O.P. senators joined Democrats to support
advancing the measure. The final vote, 54 to 35, fell short of the 60 senators
needed to move forward.
The vote
was a stinging defeat for proponents of the commission, who had argued that it
was the only way to assemble a truly comprehensive account of the riot for a
polarized nation. Modeled after the inquiry into the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks, the proposed panel of experts would have been responsible for
producing a report on the assault and recommendations to secure Congress by the
end of the year.
The debate
played out in the same chamber where a throng of supporters of former President
Donald J. Trump, egged on by his lies of a stolen election and efforts by
Republican lawmakers to invalidate President Biden’s victory, sought to disrupt
Congress’s counting of electoral votes about five months ago.
Top
Republicans had entertained supporting the measure as recently as last week.
But they ultimately reversed course, and the House approved it with only 35
Republican votes. Leaders concluded that open-ended scrutiny of the attack
would hand Democrats powerful political ammunition before the 2022 midterm
elections — and enrage a former president they are intent on appeasing.
“I do not
believe the additional extraneous commission that Democratic leaders want would
uncover crucial new facts or promote healing,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky, the minority leader. “Frankly, I do not believe it is even designed
to do that.”
Though Mr.
McConnell said he would continue to support criminal cases against the rioters
and stand by his “unflinching” criticisms of Mr. Trump, the commission’s defeat
is expected to embolden the former president at a time when he has once again
ramped up circulation of his baseless and debunked claims.
In a matter
of months, his lies have warped the views of many of his party’s supporters,
who view Mr. Biden as illegitimate; inspired a rash of new voting restrictions
in Republican-led states and a quixotic recount in Arizona denounced by both
parties; and fueled efforts by Republican members of Congress to downplay and
reframe the Capitol riot as a benign event akin to a “normal tourist visit.”
“People are
just now beginning to understand!” Mr. Trump wrote in a statement on Thursday.
Democrats
denounced the vote as a cowardly cover-up. They warned Republicans that
preventing an independent inquiry — led by five commissioners appointed by
Democrats and five by Republicans — would not shield them from confronting the
implications of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the democratic process.
“What are
you afraid of, the truth?” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and
the majority leader, addressing Republicans moments before the vote. “Are you
afraid that Donald Trump’s big lie will be dispelled?”
“This is
not a Democratic or Republican obligation,” he added. “This is an American
obligation.”
The six
Republicans who voted to advance debate on the commission included Senators
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan M. Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,
Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. All but Mr.
Portman had voted at an impeachment trial in February to find Mr. Trump guilty
of inciting the insurrection.
A seventh
Republican, Senator Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, missed the vote but said
he would have voted to advance debate on the commission. He was one of 11
senators who missed the vote.
— Nicholas
Fandos
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