On Wednesday, House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) vowed to hold a competing inquiry into the Jan. 6 insurrection if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R-CA) doesn’t “reverse course” and accept the participation of Reps. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), who were chosen specifically to sabotage the investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Both Jordan and Banks Jim Banks voted against certification of President Joe Biden’s election win the day Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the democratic process, and McCarthy called Pelosi’s rejection as “abuse of power.”
“This represents an egregious abuse of power and will irreparably damage this institution,” the minority leader complained. “Denying the voices of members who have served in the military and law enforcement, as well as leaders of standing committees, has made it undeniable that this panel has lost all legitimacy and credibility and shows the Speaker is more interested in playing politics than seeking the truth.”
McCarthy threatened to turn the investigation into an even more partisan process by holding GOP-led hearings into the deadly riot aimed at overturning Trump’s election loss.
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“Unless Speaker Pelosi reverses course and seats all five Republican nominees,” McCarthy said, “Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts.”
In an earlier statement, Pelosi said that she rejected Banks and Jordan because the two pro-Trump congressmen may impair the integrity of the investigation.
“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, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” she said in a statement. “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”
