Pelosi says Jan. 6 committee will proceed despite GOP 'antics'

Democrats, Republicans spar over Jan. 6 committee

Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on the January 6 probe and a new infrastructure bill on ‘Special Report.’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Thursday said the Jan. 6 committee will continue to seek the truth about the cause of the deadly Capitol attack despite GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy pulling all his Republican members from serving on the panel. 

“It’s my responsibility as Speaker of the House to make sure we get to the truth on this, and we will not let their antics stand in the way of that,” Pelosi said Thursday during a news conference at the Capitol. 

Pelosi on Wednesday blocked two of McCarthy’s five appointments from serving on the committee – Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jim Banks, R-Ind., – citing their statements that she said dismissed the seriousness of the attack and undermined the integrity of the committee’s work. McCarthy responded by boycotting the committee and not allowing his three Pelosi-approved picks from serving on the panel. 

Pelosi stood by her decision to block Jordan and Banks, saying they “made statements and took actions that just made it ridiculous to put them on such a committee seeking the truth.”

Both Jordan and Banks are Trump allies. Jordan called the Jan. 6 committee “Impeachment Round 3” and Banks accused Pelosi of creating the committee “solely to malign conservatives.”

Pelosi took special issue with Banks’ statement that the response from the “Biden administration” must be investigated, with the speaker noting that Biden wasn’t even in power until two weeks later. 

Pelosi pointed out that even without McCarthy’s five GOP members, the committee will still be bipartisan since she picked Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., to serve alongside her seven Democratic appointments. Cheney backed Pelosi’s decision to oust Jordan and Banks. 

Pelosi contended the committee’s work will be “non-partisan.” She said the less partisan the investigation is, the more the outcome will be accepted by the American people. 

“We’re there to get the truth, not to get Trump,” Pelosi said in dismissing GOP claims that the panel is political and designed to attack former President Donald Trump, who continues to claim, without evidence, he was the real winner of the 2020 election. 

The first committee hearing is scheduled to proceed on Tuesday with members of the D.C. and Capitol police force testifying about their harrowing experiences defending the Capitol that day from a mob of people trying to shut down Congress’s certification of President Biden’s electoral win. 

About 140 officers were injured in the attack. Two police officers died by suicide in the days that followed, and a third, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, collapsed and later died after engaging with the protesters. A medical examiner later found he died of natural causes. 

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