Pelosi Proposes House-Led Commission to Investigate January 6 Capitol Siege

Speaker Pelosi Holds Weekly Media Availability

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 17: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly media availability on Capitol Hill on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. Pelosi expressed her support for the Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act and called on Congress to pass H.R. 1, a bill to expand and protect voting rights.

White House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday she planned to create a committee with the sole task of investigating the January 6 Capitol siege.

During a private leadership meeting, Pelosi told Democratic colleagues about her plan but did not provide further details about the committee. A person familiar with the official's remarks, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed the discussions.

Pelosi's new planned committee is the second attempt by Democrats to investigate the Capitol siege after Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have formed a bipartisan, independent commission to analyze the incident initiated by former U.S. President Donald Trump's supporters.

Capitol Siege Commission

Earlier this month, Pelosi revealed the House wanted to probe into the January 6 attack where a giant mob forced their way through police lines, breached the building, and harassed lawmakers in an attempt to stop them from certifying Biden's electoral victory over Trump.

The new committee would be led by Democrats due to their majority. However, House and Senate Republicans expressed their desires to avoid a partisan probe and supported legislation to form a commission. The group will be based on a panel that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Associated Press reported.

Democrats were not able to overcome GOP opposition in the Senate to form the commission. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer revealed he could potentially hold a second vote, but he did not guarantee that the Democrats would be able to receive the necessary support from three Republicans to pass the legislation.

While the January 6 attack was unprecedented, many Republicans said they wished to move on from the incident, refusing to comment on questions regarding the insurrection. The unanswered questions sparked controversies because they included how the government and law enforcement were not able to identify intelligence reports of a large number of people coming to the Capitol building.

Unprecedented Deadly Attack

During the riot, seven people lost their lives, including Air Force veteran Ashili Babbitt, who was shot while trying to breach a window, three Trump supporters who experienced medical emergencies, and two police officers who committed suicide days after the incident.

Pelosi's statement came after Biden's previous announcement of not wanting to create a presidential commission to investigate the siege. The Democrat said the unprecedented incident's involved parties deserved a full and independent investigation, CNN reported.

On Thursday, the Justice Department released new video footage of the Capitol siege after requests from news outlets. Prosecutors used the recordings during the case against Thomas Webster, a former Marine and a retired police officer who is accused of joining the violent riot.

Prosecutors argued the 56-second tape revealed footage of Webster among a large crowd of Trump supporters while wearing a red coat. They said he screamed profanities at police officers who were defending the Capitol building, wielding a flagpole threateningly and rushing at law enforcement personnel.

Webster was also shown manhandling a police officer in photographs of the incident. The victim was wearing a body camera that recorded the attack that caused the officer to be thrown to the ground.