In the United States, the House of Representatives committee of inquiry into the attack on the Capitol begins its hearings on Tuesday. A commission that caused sharp divisions between Democrats and…

Assault on the Capitol: opening of the House of Representatives commission of inquiry

On January 6, 2021, supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, which houses the two American parliamentary chambers.

REUTERS - Leah Millis

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

In the United States, the House of Representatives committee of inquiry into the attack on the Capitol begins its hearings on Tuesday.

A commission that caused sharp divisions between Democrats and Republicans.

Publicity

With our correspondent in New York,

Loubna Anaki

For their first day, the members of the House of Representatives committee of inquiry will hear the testimonies of four police officers from the Capitol.

Among them, Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone violently attacked by the demonstrators who

stormed the building on January 6

“

It is clear that the commission will not be independent, it will not be bipartisan.
So from a political point of view, until the end of this commission, the Republicans will say "it is unacceptable",

continues Françoise Coste.

But there's a reason the Republicans haven't given this commission a chance, it's because they know full well that any honest commission of inquiry would hold Trump accountable.

"Understanding how we came close to a coup"

At the opening of the proceedings, the floor will be given to Liz Cheney, one of the only two Republicans, with Adam Kinzinger, to have agreed to sit on this committee. The intervention of the elected Republican underlines the bipartisan aspect that the Democrats wish to give to the commission despite the boycott of the Republicans. The constitution of this commission had given rise to lively exchanges between the leader of the Democratic majority in the House, Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the Republican minority.

Kevin McCarthy who did not hesitate yesterday to call Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger "

The Republicans of Pelosi

". Words described as childish by the two elected officials concerned. “

These two Republicans have a particular profile because they broke with their party: after January 6, they explicitly questioned Trump, they were part of the ten elected Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump. It was not enough, but symbolically it was a very strong vote

, ”recalls Françoise Coste.

The goal of the commission of inquiry is to shed light on the security flaws that allowed supporters of Donald Trump to launch the assault on Capitol Hill. And also to identify the causes and those who could have played a role that day. For Françoise Coste, professor at Toulouse 2 University, specialist in the Republican Party, “

it's a comedy that plays out on both sides. However,

[this commission]

still has the merit of existing.
What will be interesting will not be his political conclusions, which we know in advance - the Republicans will reject them.
It is because it can help to understand how we came close to a coup d'état.
So that the population realizes how close we have come to disaster and that it is, whether we like it or not, the responsibility of Donald Trump and no one else.

► Read also: [RFI Savoirs]

The assault on the Capitol, a striking manifestation of the fragility of American democracy

Assault on the Capitol: opening of the House of Representatives commission of inquiry

Assault on the Capitol: opening of the House of Representatives commission of inquiry

"Understanding how we came close to a coup"

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