Pelosi Renews Call for Commission to Investigate Capitol Riot

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Last updated on April 20th, 2021 at 08:56 pm

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) renewed her calls for a congressional commission to investigate the Capitol riot, which took place after a mob of former President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the United States Capitol in a bid to overturn the results of the 2020 general election.

“Today is the 100th day since the January 6th insurrection and assault on the Capitol and our Democracy,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to her colleagues on Friday. “On this 100th day, we are determined to seek the truth of January 6th. To do so, we must have a January 6th Commission. To that end, we have once again sent a proposal for such a Commission to the Republicans, modeled after the 9/11 Commission.”

“Compromise has been necessary; now, we must agree on the scope, composition and resources necessary to seek and find the truth,” Pelosi continued. “It is my hope that we can reach agreement very soon. At the same time, Committees in the House and Senate have been holding and planning hearings, which will be a resource to the Commission.”

Last week, Pelosi said in an interview with USA Today she supports establishing a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol riot if Republicans don’t budge on their demands to narrow the scope of the investigation into the deadly attack.

“The one thing among our members that is consistent is – we must find the truth,” Pelosi said, pointing out that an investigation could be spearheaded by the standing committees of Congress or by a select committee like the one Republicans established in 2012 to investigate the attack in Benghazi.

It’s always an option,” she said. “It’s not my preference in any way. My preference would be to have a commission.”

Five people died as a result of the attack, including a Capitol Police officer who later died of his injuries.

Since then, another Capitol Police officer has died after a driver rammed his vehicle into the north barricade of the Capitol complex and the debate over security and fencing at the Capitol has continued. In her letter, Pelosi notes that she will proceed with a “security supplemental” based on the recommendations outlined in the security review headed by retired Army Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, who, among other things, recommended installing mobile fencing around the Capitol and increasing security for legislators in their district offices and in their homes.