House Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi introduced a bill to form a special commission to investigate the events of January 6, 2021, when supporters of ex-President Trump occupied the Capitol building.
In accordance with Pelosi's proposal, the commission will include 13 people.
Pelosi, as speaker of the lower house of Congress, will independently appoint eight members, including the chairman.
Nominations for the remaining five seats will be coordinated with the leader of the Republican minority, Kevin McCarthy.
“A special committee will investigate and present a report on the facts and causes of the riots, as well as recommendations to prevent a recurrence of this in the future.
January 6 is one of the darkest days in the history of our country.
It is extremely important to establish the truth and make sure that such an attack could not be repeated, ”NBC News quoted Pelosi as saying.
The resolution describes the events of January 6 as an act of "internal terrorism" aimed at undermining the peaceful transfer of power in the country.
The members of the committee will analyze the actions of the US federal and law enforcement agencies, as well as explore the possibility of foreign interference, which allegedly could be one of the reasons for the storming of the Capitol.
The creation of the commission was criticized by Republicans in Congress, who voiced fears that the activities of this body would be biased.
“This will be a highly biased party event, not the honest fact-finding body that the American people and the Capitol Police deserve.
Therefore, I will not support its creation by voting, ”said Rep. John Catko, who opposed the bill.
In May, Republicans in the Senate already managed to block a bill to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 events.
Capitol capture
Recall that the riots in the Capitol on January 6 were provoked by supporters of Donald Trump, who disagreed with the results of the 2020 presidential election, the winner of which was declared the Democrat Joe Biden.
On that day, a meeting of the United States Congress was to be held at the Capitol, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, at which it was planned to certify the votes of the electoral college and finally approve Biden's victory.
In Washington, at the same time, a rally of Trump supporters was held, dissatisfied with his defeat in the election.
Trump made a speech in front of the audience, in which he once again called the results of the vote rigged.
Trump supporters outside the Capitol on January 6
Reuters
© Leah Millis
After his speech, followers of the 45th President of the United States surrounded the Capitol building, demanding that the certification process be stopped.
They clashed with the police guarding the building, who responded with tear gas.
However, Trump supporters were able to break through the guards - they occupied the Senate Hall and several offices, including the workplace of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
As a result, the congressional meeting was interrupted, and Vice President Pence and lawmakers were evacuated.
This incident was perceived extremely painfully by the Democratic Party and the American media.
Joe Biden called January 6 one of the "darkest days" in US history.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, began to arrest participants in the storming of the Capitol, and the National Guard was sent to Washington to guard the city during Biden's inauguration.
In total, in the case of illegal invasion of the Capitol, the US Department of Justice indicted more than 400 detainees.
Search for provocateurs
At the same time, members of the Republican Party are calling for an investigation into the possible involvement of provocateurs associated with the US federal government in the January 6 events.
The reason was the publication of the material of the Revolver edition, as well as the statements of the popular TV presenter and journalist of the Fox News channel Tucker Carlson, who do not exclude that among the arrested participants in the storming of the Capitol were secret FBI officers.
As an argument in favor of this version, Carlson referred to the wording in the indictment documents of the US Department of Justice.
“It is strange that some of the key participants in the January 6 events were never charged.
Take a look at the doc.
The authorities call these people "accomplices who are not under investigation."
What does it mean?
This means that, perhaps, they were all FBI employees, "- said Carlson.
The Fox News presenter cited the example of a veteran of the US Armed Forces who was charged with conspiracy.
At the same time, the persons involved in this conspiracy somehow escaped prosecution.
"Person two" and "person three" were the organizers of the assault.
The authorities know who it is, but they have not been charged.
Why?
You know why: they almost certainly worked for the FBI, ”said the presenter.
Soon, Republican Congressman Matt Goetz said on Twitter that he had sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Ray demanding clarification on the role of bureau operatives in the events of January 6.
Republican Marjorie Taylor Green made a similar appeal.
“We need names and answers regarding the FBI officers involved in the January 6th Capitol riot.
At first, they had a "backup plan" to stop Trump using the theory of the "Russian trace", but now it turns out that they took an active part in the events of January 6, "the politician wrote on her Twitter.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Reuters
© Leah Millis
The purpose of the commission, the bill on the creation of which was presented by Pelosi, is to demonize Donald Trump's supporters, political analyst Alexander Asafov believes.
“We know that the Biden administration is trying to charge these people with the harshest counts.
In addition, everything is going to bring the story of
"Russian" influence and call all participants members of destructive organizations that, including supporting Trump, destroy order and civil peace in the country.
And of course, this decision must be properly formalized, so this special committee is being created to investigate the riots, "the expert explained in a conversation with RT.
Based on the results of the work of this commission, it will be concluded that Trump's supporters are a "hostile force" within the country or "internal terrorists", and they will be assigned maximum punishments, Alexander Asafov said.
In addition, during the work of the commission, the topic of Russian interference will be raised again, the political scientist believes.
"Of course, they will try to tie Russia to this ... This will give additional grounds for new accusations against Moscow," said Alexander Asafov.
The situation with the events of January 6 shows how fragmented society is in the United States, the expert added.
“I think that the events of January 6 clearly demonstrate the line of division within the American society, which does not believe in voting by mail, does not believe that the elections were held cleanly and openly, and does not believe that Biden won.
But this is the point of view of dissidents, it will be suppressed quite harshly, including by criminal penalties, ”said Alexander Asafov.
The United States is rapidly turning into a liberal-totalitarian regime that does not provide for political competitors or those who disagree with the democratic agenda, Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented on the situation in an interview with RT.
"The Democrats, having designated Trump's supporters who went to the Capitol as" internal terrorists ", demonstrated that they are ready to deal with opponents of their course as harshly as possible," the source said.
This does not bode well for the democratic institutions of the United States, Konstantin Blokhin is sure.
“Democrats are now undermining the foundation of American statehood by promoting the use of repressive methods against those who participated in the January 6 events.
All this, including the very fact of the storming of the Capitol, inflicts a serious blow on the image of the United States, ”the political scientist concluded.