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Pelosi Appoints Kinzinger to 1/6 Probe 07/26 06:20
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday named a second
Republican critic of Donald Trump, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, to a special committee
investigating the Capitol riot and pledged that the Democratic-majority panel
will "get to the truth." Kinzinger said he "humbly accepted" the appointment
even as his party's leadership is boycotting the inquiry.
With the committee set to hold its first meeting, hearing from police
officers who battled the rioters, Pelosi said it was imperative to learn what
happened on Jan. 6, when insurrectionists disrupted the congressional
certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory, and why the violent siege
took place. That mission, she said, must be pursued in a bipartisan manner to
ensure "such an attack can never happen again."
Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, will bring "great patriotism to the
committee's mission: to find the facts and protect our Democracy," she said in
a statement.
He joins Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, as the two committee's Republicans,
both selected by the leader of the opposition party. Kinzinger and Cheney were
among the 10 House Republicans to vote for Trump's second impeachment. They
were the only two Republicans who voted last month to form the special
committee.
"For months, lies and conspiracy theories have been spread, threatening our
self-governance," Kinzinger said in a statement. "For months, I have said that
the American people deserve transparency and truth on how and why thousands
showed up to attack our democracy."
"I will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those
responsible for the attack fully accountable," he said.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has said the GOP will not participate
after Pelosi, D-Calif., refused to accept two of the members he picked.
McCarthy, R-Calif., has said the committee was a "sham process" and withdrew
his five members when Pelosi rejected two of them, Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana
and Jim Jordan of Ohio. Both voted on Jan. 6 against certifying Biden's
election victory over Trump and both are outspoken allies of the former
president.
In a statement Sunday, McCarthy said Pelosi's decision to reject his picks
and appoint members "who share her preconceived narrative will not yield a
serious investigation" and is intended "to satisfy her political objectives."
Kinzinger and Cheney have faulted Trump as a factor in spurring the
insurrection with his persistently false claims that the 2020 election was
"stolen" due to voting fraud.
In recent weeks, Kinzinger has suggested he would be open to serving on the
committee, despite threats from McCarthy that Republicans who accept a spot
could be stripped of their regular committee assignments as retaliation for
participating.
"It's clear that Pelosi only wants members on this committee who will stick
to her talking points and stick to her narrative. That's why she's picked the
group that she's already picked," Banks said on "Fox News Sunday." He said that
"anyone that she asks to be on this committee, from this point moving forward,
will be stuck to her -- her narrative, to her point of view. There won't be
another side."
The House voted in May to create an independent investigation that would
have been evenly split between the parties, but Senate Republicans blocked that
approach. Pelosi said the new panel was being created only because a bipartisan
commission was no longer an option.
Currently Cheney sits on the committee along with seven Democrats --
ensuring they have a quorum to proceed, whether other Republicans participate
or not.
Pelosi expressed confidence that the committee's work will be seen as
bipartisan and credible even with McCarthy's effort to boycott the panel.
"We have to, again, ignore the antics of those who do not want to find the
truth," she said. "We will find the truth. That truth will have the confidence
of the American people because it will be done patriotically and not in a
partisan way."
Seven people died during and after the rioting, including a woman who was
shot by police as she tried to break into the House chamber and three other
Trump supporters who suffered medical emergencies. Two police officers died by
suicide in the days that followed, and a third officer, Capitol Police Officer
Brian Sicknick, collapsed and later died after engaging with the protesters. A
medical examiner determined he died of natural causes.
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