Antelope Valley Press

Republicans getting ready for new year

Rep. Kevin McCarthy said the Republican party will launch their own inquiry into the work of the Jan. 6 special committee.

Members of the GOP can’t wait until next year when the newly empowered House Republicans plan to end the inquiry into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

But it won’t stop there because they will also likely attempt to dismantle and discredit its findings.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who is trying to become the next House speaker, warned the special committee, on Wednesday, that members of the Republican party plan to launch an inquiry of their own into the panel’s work. They intend to do this next year when the Republicans assume control of the chamber.

“In a letter sent to the committee’s chair, McCarthy instructed the panel to preserve its records — an action already required under House rules — including any recorded transcripts of its more than 1,000 interviews,” a news report said.

This is the latest piece in a broader effort by the Republican party over the past two years to shift blame, deny or downplay the attack by the proTrump mob.

The latest “promise” comes as McCarthy attempts to shore up his position with hard-right Republicans who have refused to support his bid for speaker. Unless he can win them over, his chances of being elected in January are in peril.

In the letter, McCarthy pledged to hold public hearings, scrutinizing the security breakdowns that occurred during the assault.

“Although your committee’s public hearings did not focus on why the Capitol complex was not secure on Jan. 6, 2021, the Republican majority in the 118th Congress will hold hearings to do so,” he wrote to Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and chair of the committee, according to a news report.

Republicans, especially those on the far right, have insisted on focusing on the security flaws, which have baselessly been blamed on Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It seems they’d rather push that angle than focus on former president Donald Trump’s role in pushing for the election to be overturned and summoning a large crowd to march on the Capitol. His call to action resulted in more than 150 police officers being attacked and injured in their rampage.

A spokesperson for the Jan. 6 committee declined to comment on the letter.

Though Jan. 1 will usher in a new year, it will be more of the same bickering between parties, it seems. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

OPINION

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2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://avpress.pressreader.com/article/281818582857440

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