House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently announced that Congress will establish a 9/11 style commission to investigate the attack on Jan. 6 at the Capitol. She wrote in a letter to her colleagues in the House of Representatives that they must get “to the truth of how this happened” and establish a committee to “investigate and report on the facts and causes.” Doesn’t Pelosi know Washington officials are the last people we trust to “expose the truth?”
Pelosi stressed in her letter that the commission will investigate all interferences with the “peaceful transfer of power,” including responses of the United States Capitol Police and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the National Capital Region. “We must put forth a supplemental appropriation to provide for the safety of Members and the security of the Capitol,” she wrote.
A 9/11 Commission was signed into law by then-President George W. Bush in November 2002. The bipartisan panel conducted a 20-month-long investigation into the circumstances surrounding the terrorist attack and how to prevent similar attacks.
However, the committee exposed a number of federal intelligence and law enforcement failures preceding the hijacking of four airliners. 9/11 widows and widowers have pressured congressional leaders to create independent commissions to investigate. “We wanted journalists, we wanted academics…We did not want politicians,” complained Beverly Eckert, a 9/11 widow.
As if dragging the former president through an impeachment trial wasn’t enough, Pelosi wants to use her power to continue the politics of destruction. The preparedness, response, and authority of the Capitol Police rest with Congress, so Nancy will just end up investigating herself. Congress’ private cops are the 19th largest police force in the country, with a massive $460 million budget, and is the only legislative federal force that answers exclusively to Congress.
On Jan. 4, Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund sent a letter to Pelosi requesting the assistance of the National Guard. He wrote that he was concerned about the optics and didn’t feel the “intelligence supported it.” He then notified his Sergeant and said it took over an hour for his request to be approved because it had to run up “the chain of command,” which undoubtedly includes the House Speaker.
House Republicans have also raised concerns about how information is procured and preserved from House officers when they requested it. “In multiple cases, your appointees, acting on your behalf, have denied requests to produce this information. The response we received was: ‘We regret to inform you that given the scope of the information requested and the concerns implicated by the nature of the request… we are unable to comply with the request at this time,’” they wrote. So much for “an investigation.”
When Black Lives Matter rioters besieged the White House, 60 members of the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division were injured while President Trump and his family were taken to a bunker. 65 Park Police officers were wounded in the BLM riots and 11 had to be hospitalized. This roughly matches the 60 Capitol Police and 58 D.C. cops injured in the Capitol riot. Where was the outrage then?
If Pelosi investigates to her heart’s content, she’ll just end up walking in circles.
