Although House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has not commented on his heated phone conversation on Jan. 6 with then-President Donald Trump as rioters stormed the Capitol, that phone call is almost certain to be investigated by the 9/11-style commission that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is promising to probe the insurrection, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
The call, which Democrat prosecutors made part of the official impeachment record, also could be part of other investigations or any future criminal or civil complaints against Trump.
The 9/11-style commission “will look at the facts related to the January 6 domestic terror attack,” Rep. Ted Lieu, an impeachment manager and member of Pelosi’s leadership team, told The Hill. “Certainly the president doing nothing to stop the attack, even after the urging of the Republican House leader, would be a relevant part of the inquiry.”
McCarthy endorsed the 9/11-style commission, saying “it is our responsibility to understand the security and intelligence breakdowns that led to the riots,” adding that a commission should be “both independent and bipartisan, and to preserve that integrity it must be evenly split between both parties.”
Republicans are hoping the commission will focus attention on whether the threat assessments were shared with congressional leaders in the days before the attack.
“I want to look at what Pelosi knew, when she knew it, what President Trump did after the attack, and on the Senate side was Senate leadership informed of a threat,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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