Patterico's Pontifications

5/18/2021

House Minority Leader McCarthy Says ‘No’ To Supporting Commission To Investigate Jan. 6

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:01 am



[guest post by Dana]

Unsurprisingly. McCarthy’s opposition comes ahead of a House vote on the issue:

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday voiced opposition to legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a lengthy statement a day before the House is set to vote on the measure, McCarthy complained about the negotiations, argued that multiple investigations into the riot already exist and said he wants the panel to also look into other instances of violence.

The legislation is the product of a compromise announced Friday by the top Democrat and Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and John Katko, R-N.Y., who reached a deal on the guidelines for the panel to model it after the 9/11 Commission.

“Given the political misdirections that have marred this process, given the now duplicative and potentially counterproductive nature of this effort, and given the Speaker’s shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation,” McCarthy said.

If McCarthy hopes to become Speaker in two years (and Republicans take House majority), it’s probably a good strategy for him to stay in you-know-who’s good graces. Additionally, he doesn’t want to be compelled to testify about the conversation he had with the former president on Jan. 6.

Anyway, as a reminder of how the Trump-loyal Republicans view the insurrection on Jan. 6, look no further than Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia. [Note: While rioters didn’t quite make it onto the House floor, they did make it onto the Senate floor]:

“As one of the members who stayed in the Capitol, and on the House floor, who with other Republican colleagues helped barricade the door until almost 3 p.m. from the mob who tried to enter, I can tell you the House floor was never breached and it was not an insurrection. This is the truth,” Clyde claimed.

“There was an undisciplined mob. There were some rioters, and some who committed acts of vandalism. But let me be clear, there was no insurrection and to call it an insurrection in my opinion, is a bold faced lie. Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol, and walk through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking videos and pictures, you know,” he continued.

“If you didn’t know that TV footage was a video from January the sixth, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit,” Clyde said.

Oh:

House
(Via NBC News)

–Dana

69 Responses to “House Minority Leader McCarthy Says ‘No’ To Supporting Commission To Investigate Jan. 6”

  1. Good morning.

    Dana (fd537d)

  2. Good point about McCarthy not wanting to testify about his telephone conversation with Trump while under siege, Dana.
    There are a couple of alternatives for McCarthy, neither of which are complimentary to the wannabe Speaker: (1) he’s a poor leader/delegator for appointing this deputy who brought back a “bad” agreement, or (2) he’s doing some performative political grandstanding to please his Mar A Lago Master.

    Paul Montagu (26e0d1)

  3. Great photo: suitable for framing at you-know-who’s-summer-dacha.

    … and Putin smiled.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  4. Hoo boy:

    Murkowski suggests Trump should testify before Jan. 6 commission, suggests too “broad a brush” would undermine probe

    Dana (fd537d)

  5. An investigation will only be embarrassing to the GOP….and Trump. Didn’t we get the message that we must stay unified against Biden’s agenda? Nothing surprising….I suppose.

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  6. Pfft. From the 9/11 commission to the Warren commission, D & R Royalists gotta royal.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  7. Watching GOP leadership play politics with this is disgusting.

    Time123 (306531)

  8. It depends on how the inquiry is conducted, of course. If it’s a rehash of the impeachment trial, or otherwise designed to embarrass the GOP (more than it already is), then I can see not being in favor.

    The GOP needs to get past Jan 6th (and Trump if at all possible) and focus on what Biden is doing. Biden, of course, wants them consumed by Trump’s circus for as long as possible. Nothing Trump has ever done dissuades me from the idea he’s a Democrat wedge in the GOP’s heart.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  9. While I would like to see the Democrats prosecute Trump to the limits of the law, I doubt they will.
    They know that it would 1) free the GOP from the prospect of a new Trump candidacy, 2) make Trump a martyr, and 3) allow the GOP to coalesce around Trumpism without Trump.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  10. @7 maybe we’ll find out babbitt died of natural causes

    JF (e1156d)

  11. Nothing Trump has ever done dissuades me from the idea he’s a Democrat wedge in the GOP’s heart

    LOL jus like John Connolly, John Lindsay or even Nelson Rockefeller, eh?! 😉

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  12. @10. We’ll find out– it’ll leak… like, close to election day.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  13. Matter of fact, a good direction for McCarthy and others to take would be to demand that Biden’s DoJ charge Trump with crimes or STFU. Repeatedly trying him in the press, and by innuendo and “smear” is the coward’s way out. Charge him or shut up!

    The briar patch is right over here –>

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  14. McCarthy was fine with endless Benghazi commissions. I wonder what has changed.

    Davethulhu (6ba00b)

  15. LOL jus like John Connolly, John Lindsay or even Nelson Rockefeller, eh?!

    None of those were loud-mouthed repulsive idiots, so no.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  16. Pelosi abhored endless Benghazi commissions. I wonder what has changed.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  17. 1/6 was an inside job

    JF (e1156d)

  18. “Pelosi abhored endless Benghazi commissions. I wonder what has changed.”

    How many 1/6 commissions have we had so far?

    Davethulhu (6ba00b)

  19. McCarthy knows what it will take to become speaker, so it is a rational political decision.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  20. I’d like a commission on whether Biden would have ever been elected President if he was running against anybody other than Trump (and I’m not excluding Peewee Herman).

    nk (1d9030)

  21. @15. None of those [Connolly, Lindsay & Rockefeller] were loud-mouthed repulsive idiots, so no.

    ROFLMAO you’d get an argument on that from the likes of Yarborough, Buckley, Goldwater and his Bircher minions.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  22. How many 1/6 commissions have we had so far?

    We had the impeachment trial, televised gavel-to-gavel on most networks. We had ONE Benghazi Commission. Endless committee hearings, of course, but that’s normal.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  23. I’d like a commission on whether Biden would have ever been elected President if he was running against anybody other than Trump

    He would have lost to Trump, too, had

    1. Trump encouraged mail ballots
    2. The drug companies had not withheld their vaccine results.
    3. His Twitter feed got banned before the election.
    4. Trump had not been out of control at that first debate.

    For want of a Prozac the kingdom was lost.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  24. We had ONE Benghazi Commission. Endless committee hearings, of course, but that’s normal.

    Uh, no.

    There were ten investigations into the Benghazi attack. Five by House committees (Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform), the Senate Intelligence Committee, the FBI, State Department Accountability Review Board, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and a House Select Committee.

    The investigations ran from September 13, 2012 until December 7, 2016.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  25. 20.I’d like a commission on whether Biden would have ever been elected President if he was running against anybody other than Trump (and I’m not excluding Peewee Herman).

    Welcome to 1988.

    😉

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  26. RIP Charles Grodin (86). The Heartbreak Kid.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  27. I loved Grodin’s understated acting.

    norcal (1aafb8)

  28. The attorney for the “QAnon Shaman” gave a wild interview in which he hinted at a new version of the Twinkie Defense:

    [Albert] Watkins, the “Q Shaman” Jacob Chansley’s attorney, said his client had Asperger’s syndrome and indicated that Chansley’s mental state — and the impact of Trump’s “propaganda” efforts — would play a role in his case.

    “A lot of these defendants — and I’m going to use this colloquial term, perhaps disrespectfully — but they’re all f*cking short-bus people,” Watkins told TPM. “These are people with brain damage, they’re f*cking retarded, they’re on the godd*mn spectrum.”

    “But they’re our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors, our coworkers — they’re part of our country. These aren’t bad people, they don’t have prior criminal history. F*ck, they were subjected to four-plus years of godd*mn propaganda the likes of which the world has not seen since f*cking Hitler.”

    Hard to disagree.

    Dave (1542be)

  29. Despite redacting all the expletives in a quote by someone else, my previous post went into moderation.

    Outrageous censorship! Orwellian! Cancel culture! Yada, Yada…

    Dave (1542be)

  30. Congress already has committees to investigate 6th.

    These 9/11 commissions are nothing more than dual-partisan interpretations where both sides negotiates the “least bad” interpretations for partisan reasons. See 9/11 commission as an example.

    Using existing committee, ie the Judiciary, to issue subpoenas and conduct hearings.

    Why is that so hard?

    whembly (3b5b58)

  31. @28 random nutcase

    JF (e1156d)

  32. @28 random nutcase

    “Next-level” nutcases (of any political stripe), who don’t just post idiocy on Twitter but commit crimes in the real world, shouldn’t be ignored.

    Dave (1542be)

  33. It was the r-word, Dave.

    And that lawyer described about 16 million or so Trump supporters.

    nk (1d9030)

  34. Which I’ve always thought so, too, but it’s not a legal defense. You see, it’s also most criminals.

    nk (1d9030)

  35. And I’m not even counting the ones who don’t vote in to “Dancing With The Stars” because they’re afraid they’ll be called for jury duty.

    nk (1d9030)

  36. R.I.P. Charles Grodin, 86

    Roll over, Beethoven… where the Allegheny meets the Ohio.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  37. Dave @28,

    ROTFLMFAO!

    It’s true. You know who just loved professional wrestling? My cousin, who had Down Syndrome.

    Trump talks just like pro wrestlers do when they’re posturing before a “match”.

    norcal (1aafb8)

  38. Never work with animals or children.

    W.C. Fields

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  39. W.C. Fields was a Republican.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  40. I hope rural Missourians see this guy the way Downstate Illinois Rs see DuPage County Rs:

    https://news.yahoo.com/st-louis-man-waved-gun-222236095.html

    urbanleftbehind (763e5d)

  41. #35

    I wouldn’t put it past CA Franchise Tax Board to use the place you voted in from to determine your tax liability. “You voted on Dancing with the Stars twice pinging a CA cell tower when you texted… you have been determined to be a resident for tax purposes”

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  42. How would jan.6 commission help frank luntz’s roommate become house speaker?

    asset (477247)

  43. That Shaman lawyer is being far too kind to his client. Its put up or shut up time…. does the lawyer allow the shaman wear his outfit into court citing religious reasons? You can’t suddenly drop being crazy when the only defense you really have is crazy and dumb

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  44. The commission won’t start until next year and it will crescendo in late September
    Election theater.

    It all depends on Biden’s dementia progression

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  45. The commission won’t start until next year and it will crescendo in late September
    Election theater.

    I didn’t know that. Then McCarthy is 100% right to tell them to go soak their heads. Cause, I’ll tell you, it sounds phonier than Nancy Palomino’s teeth to me.

    nk (1d9030)

  46. According to the aide, the draft calls for a commission of eleven members, outside of government that will be appointed by Congressional leaders and the White House. The “big four” leaders in Congress would each get to appoint two members, while the President would appoint three members including the chair. Based on the current leadership make up Democrats would choose seven of the commission members and Republicans would pick four.

    The commissioners would be tasked with filing their report by the end of 2021. The commission would end 60 days after the report has been issued.

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/22/politics/capitol-riot-investigation-commission/index.html

    Davethulhu (6ba00b)

  47. I would think all politicians would be somewhat wary of a 1/6 Commission taking place before the criminal trials of those arrested on 1/6 take place. If you have a public hearing where a witness says something exculpatory, then an AUSA or two might be a little bitter.

    Hoi Polloi (b28058)

  48. The commission won’t start until next year and it will crescendo in late September
    Election theater.

    Too bad it’s not even remotely true.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (1367c0)

  49. How does it feel, Klink? I’ve been the last one to comment on a thread that died early in the evening.

    Oh…damn!

    norcal (1aafb8)

  50. From Tapper:

    House GOP Whip Scalise announces Republicans WILL whip GOP Members to vote AGAINST the creation of a bipartisan National Commission to Investigate the January 6th Attack

    Dana (fd537d)

  51. I’ll be last, norcal!

    Dana (fd537d)

  52. Investigation of Trump Organization now exploring possible criminal conduct, N.Y. attorney general’s office says

    New York Attorney General Letitia James’s investigation into the Trump Organization is now considered a criminal matter, James’s office said Tuesday night, noting that officials with the former president’s company were recently apprised of the development.

    “We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the company is no longer purely civil in nature,” said Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office. “We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA. We have no additional comment at this time.”
    ………
    Alan Garten, an attorney for the Trump Organization, declined to comment. Trump and his representatives have repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying the investigations are baseless and politically motivated.

    Eric Trump, the former president’s son and a top official at the Trump Organization, declined to comment Tuesday. …….
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (663335)

  53. the walls are closing in on trump, episode 681

    as for cuomo, well the pilot was never greenlighted

    JF (e1156d)

  54. House GOP Whip Scalise announces Republicans WILL whip GOP Members to vote AGAINST the creation of a bipartisan National Commission to Investigate the January 6th Attack

    Fascists.

    Dave (1542be)

  55. Fascists?! Hardly. A government laced with by Larson E. Whipsnade and Cuthbert J. Twillie types know the audience they’re playing to: suckers and chumps.

    Hence, no inquiries; especially with serious issues like water and electricity shutoffs in Texas or gasoline flow to the Eastern seaboard shutdown by Russian teenagers half a world away w/$5 thumb drives loaded w/malware. Yes, they know their audience: ‘Never give a sucker an even break or smarted up a chump.’… “Watch the skies” instead:

    Sen. Marco Rubio, R, FL] said the U.S. should take the “threat” of UFOs “seriously” in an interview aired Sunday on CBS 60 Minutes.

    ‘I saw one of those flying saucers;
    Everything you read in the papers is true;
    I saw one of those flying saucers;
    Boy I’m scared; ain’t you?!’ — The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, CBS TV, 1968

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  56. BLM’s spokesman on twitter endorsed Hamas through “free Palestine.”

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  57. How long until they lock up Van Morrison?

    mg (8cbc69)

  58. 56. NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/18/2021 @ 11:28 pm

    BLM’s spokesman on twitter endorsed Hamas through “free Palestine.”

    That means kill or exile most of the Jews, but don’t be very explicit about it.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  59. “If you didn’t know that TV footage was a video from January the sixth, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit,” Clyde said

    Some of the footage, when they walked between the rope lines.

    But even for that in a standard tourist visit, they’d be moving a lot slower with stops and starts.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  60. 30. whembly (3b5b58) — 5/18/2021 @ 2:07 pm

    Using existing committee, ie the Judiciary, to issue subpoenas and conduct hearings.

    Why is that so hard?

    It’s more partisan, they wouldn’t get money for extra staff.

    McCarthy wants “balance” so it wouldn’t appear that the only rioters anywhere were supports of Donald Trump. Or at least that’s his excuse.

    I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S CANCELLED APPEARANCE AT THE CAPITOL.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  61. mg (8cbc69) — 5/19/2021 @ 2:47 am

    I’m loving these posts. That album is a big middle finger. I’ve been wondering where all the rebels went too.

    As far as a commission goes; are there any plans for a commission on the pipeline hack? If we’re scheduling commissions can we do the pipeline hack earlier in the process?

    frosty (f27e97)

  62. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to see the “fine print” before endorsing the commission. Republican assent is needed for this to pass the Senate.

    Originally House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted a commission with a Democratic majority of 7-4. Now it will be 5-5 with a Republican vice Chairman, but the Chairman will have a lot of control over the investigation. Agreement between the two chairs or a majority (which means 6-4 or maybe 5-4) will be needed to issue subpoenas, but while subpoenas cannot be issued by the Chairman alone, he or she will be able to demand (written?) information from federal agencies by law. (since this will be a law, they will have to supply it). He or she also will appoint the senior staff.

    Under current language, The report will be due on December 31 of this year not next September.

    A full investigation will not be so good for the Democrats because parts of the narrative are not true. The assault was not triggered by a Donald Trump speech, as the Article of Impeachment passed in January says, but planned well in advance. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick did not die from an assault, and the Speaker and aides probably knew this before he was honored by laying in state in the rotunda. You can ask questions as to why the Capitol Police were not allowed to ask for help before this began or how came it that some Capitol Police let some of the crowd into the building. (I think their defense is that they wanted to avoid violence, or getting hurt themselves)

    You could also go into the killing of Ashli Babbitt, but the defense there is that someone wanted to avoid worse. Of course, the really bad guys put her on the front line.

    According to a Wall Street Journal editorial, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wants some other political violence included. In particular, the 2017 attack on a Republican Congressional baseball practice in 2017 that nearly killed Representative Steve Scalise (R-La.); the murder outside the Capitol this year on April 2 (Good Friday) of Capitol Police Officer William Evans; and attacks on a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  63. @60

    30. whembly (3b5b58) — 5/18/2021 @ 2:07 pm
    Using existing committee, ie the Judiciary, to issue subpoenas and conduct hearings.
    Why is that so hard?

    It’s more partisan, they wouldn’t get money for extra staff.

    McCarthy wants “balance” so it wouldn’t appear that the only rioters anywhere were supports of Donald Trump. Or at least that’s his excuse.

    I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S CANCELLED APPEARANCE AT THE CAPITOL.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 5/19/2021 @ 3:43 am

    And?

    That’s how you investigate. Model it after the Benghazi hearing.

    A 9/11 commission sort of thing greatly increases the chances of whitewashing.

    whembly (867f2f)

  64. FBI and grand jury. Only right way to go.

    nk (1d9030)

  65. Model it after the Benghazi hearing.

    Which one?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  66. Philly DA Larry Krasner beats primary challenger Carlos Vega by wide margin in closely watched race
    ……..
    The Associated Press projected Krasner as the winner over Vega late Tuesday night. As of Wednesday morning, with 72% of the projected votes counted, Krasner held a wide advantage, 65% to 35%. In a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to one, Krasner is now very likely to win November’s general election. He won the 2017 general election with 75% of the vote.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  67. yeah the FBI that said the softball shooting was suicide by cop

    JF (e1156d)

  68. Sounds fair. I’d classify Ashli Babbitt as suicide by cop, too.

    There’s no reason why a suicide cannot be initiated by, and committed during, a battle. Of the two Spartan survivors of Thermopylae, one simply hanged himself from the disgrace, but the other waited until the next battle and charged the enemy’s front line alone, with predictable results.

    nk (1d9030)

  69. 63. whembly (867f2f) — 5/19/2021 @ 8:30 am

    That’s how you investigate. Model it after the Benghazi hearing.

    A 9/11 commission sort of thing greatly increases the chances of whitewashing.

    The Benghazi committee had a Republican majority and they didn;t want to whitewash a Democratic Adninistration.

    hey stumbled on tehe matter of Hillary Clinton’s private email because they received copies of messages Hillary Clinton sent to people in the State Department but none from her end.

    The question is how honest each party would be. A House committee controlled by Democrats would be analogous to the Benghazi committee. a commission is supposed to be a little bit fairer.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1133 secs.