House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has created a select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol that shares “her pre-conceived narrative,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement on Sunday.
“Speaker Pelosi’s rejection of the Republican nominees to serve on the committee and self-appointment of members who share her pre-conceived narrative will not yield a serious investigation,” McCarthy wrote, saying she “has structured this select committee to satisfy her political objectives.”
McCarthy’s criticism came hours after Pelosi appointed to the committee Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who voted to impeach then President Donald Trump for a second time in January on a charge of inciting an insurrection, The Hill reported, and two days before the panel is set to hold its first hearing.
McCarthy said in his statement that Pelosi “had months to work with Republicans on a reasonable and fair approach to get answers on the events and security failures surrounding January 6,” insisting that “lost in much of the news coverage is the fact that the Senate has already conducted bipartisan investigations that should serve as a roadmap for the House.”
He charged that her “departure from this serious-minded approach has destroyed the select committee’s credibility. The U.S. Capitol and the men and women who protect it suffered a massive leadership failure. We must make sure that never happens again and that is what Republicans will be focused on.”
Pelosi had earlier rejected two of McCarthy’s choices to serve on the committee - Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Jim Banks (Indiana) - both of whom are ardent Trump backers, stating that she did so “with respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these members.”
McCarthy had reacted to that move by pulling all five of his choices from the committee, leading Pelosi to make her announcement that Kinzinger would be joining the panel, because he “brings great patriotism to the committee’s mission: to find the facts and protect our democracy,” according to The Hill.
Kinzinger welcomed the nomination, writing in a statement that "when duty calls, I will always answer."
He added that "today, I was asked by the Speaker to serve on the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th and I humbly accepted. I will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those responsible for the attack fully accountable."
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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