When Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced which Democrats were to serve on her Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol on July 1, she told a news conference that the panel’s purpose was “to seek and to find the truth … in the most patriotic and nonpartisan way, so the American people have confidence in the results.”
After Pelosi rejected two of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s five Republican picks to serve on the select committee, whose first hearing was held on July 27, he claimed that the panel had “lost all legitimacy and credibility.”
Pelosi accused Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) of “statements and actions” that would undermine “the integrity of the investigation,” presumably including their votes against the creation of the committee.
In response, Jordan and Banks accused Pelosi of rejecting them because she knew they would demand answers as to why the U.S. Capitol Police, which is under her control, wasn’t prepared for the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol despite being warned days ahead of time that trouble was brewing.
McCarthy withdrew all five of his nominees, so Pelosi added Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) as the second and last Republican member of the panel, joining Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). Both Kinzinger and Cheney voted to impeach Trump following the riot.
All seven Democrats on the select committee also voted to impeach Trump a week after the Jan. 6 breach and to hold him responsible for the day’s events.
That vote was the second to impeach Trump for several of the panel members, including the chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). Thompson also sued Trump after the Capitol incursion, claiming he incited it.
Other select committee members are Reps. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).
Raskin was a member of the House impeachment team that presented the case to the Senate for Trump’s responsibility for the riot and helped draft the impeachment articles that were approved by 222 House Democrats and 10 Republicans.
