The commission proposed in H.R. 3233 to investigate the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol could make major contributions to assessing the chaotic events of that day and recommending steps to avoid a recurrence. Most important, the commission could develop an accurate, comprehensive narrative of what actually took place and, hopefully, get to the bottom of the epic law enforcement failures that allowed a mob to take over the Capitol and temporarily prevent the Congress from executing its constitutional responsibilities. Perversely, an unwarranted fixation on Trump and disingenuous Republican objections may doom the commission legislation. This would deprive the public of valuable insights into the January 6 fiasco that an independent commission—and perhaps only such a commission—could provide.
The January 6 attack on the United States Capitol was a huge affront to our democracy and a severe national embarrassment. Clearly, many aspects of the events of that terrible day cry out for thorough, objective investigation. A bill (H.R. 3233, 117th Cong.) to establish a commission to investigate the January 6 attack was developed through bipartisan negotiations in which Democrats made significant concessions from their original proposal. In terms of structure and staffing, the compromise version closely follows the model of the successful 9/11 Commission. The bill recently passed the House with significant bipartisan support (35 Republicans) despite the opposition of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other House GOP leaders. The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as well as a number of other Republican senators have announced their opposition.
An all too familiar and politically dubious phenomenon underlies Republican opposition: continuing fear of Trump. Many Republicans still feel the need to appease Trump; others simply want to avoid rehashing his outrageous conduct relating to the January 6 attack. No doubt a particular concern for McCarthy is being pressed to testify about his January 6 phone call with Trump in the midst of the attack. (To be fair, Democrats surely relish the prospect of a commission keeping Trump’s transgressions in the public eye.)
Fixating on Trump in relation to the commission, however, is both ironic and perverse. It is ironic because the commission probably would not develop much new evidence about him. It is perverse because defeating the commission bill based on political concerns over Trump would deprive the public of much potentially useful work on other January 6-related subjects that the commission—and perhaps only such a commission— could accomplish.
Trump’s conduct obviously is a legitimate subject of inquiry and needs to be pursued. Practically speaking, however, there is little that the commission stands to contribute on this front. In typical Trump fashion, his outrageous conduct on January 6 and the days and weeks preceding it occurred mainly in full public view; it is already widely known and notorious. Indeed, it was enough to justify his impeachment and draw strong condemnation even from Mitch McConnell. The commission might unearth some further details, such as exactly what transpired in the Trump-McCarthy phone call, but it would be hard pressed to develop fundamentally new insights. Trump and his allies would likely stonewall the commission, and the commission probably would run out of time to force their testimony before the year-end deadline for completion of its work. Additionally, an investigation focused intensively on Trump would undoubtedly bog down the commission in partisan discord and distract from more fruitful lines of inquiry.
There are two areas in which the commission should be able to make more important contributions. One is developing a comprehensive, coherent, and accurate understanding of what actually transpired before, during, and in the wake of the attack. Thus far, accounts of the chaotic events of January 6 are fragmented and often conflicting. An even more important contribution by the commission would be to sort out and analyze the monumental intelligence, security, and operational failures that allowed a mob to seize the Capitol building and temporarily bring Congress’ functioning to a halt—specifically, its constitutionally mandated duties relating to the presidential election.
The law enforcement issues relating to January 6 have been obscured by conflicting accounts, obfuscations, recriminations, finger-pointing, and deflections among the many government entities involved. There is a compelling need to penetrate through all of this in order to gain an understanding of how the massive security breakdown occurred and how to ensure that it never happens again. Congress itself is ill suited to do this investigating since the most prominent entities involved (Capitol Police, House and Senate Sergeants at Arms) operate under its direct responsibility. It is also likely that the actions of individual Members of Congress will come under scrutiny. An independent body outside of Congress thus appears to be the only source capable of credibly investigating and resolving these issues.
Given our hyper-polarized times, it is reasonable to question whether a commission whose members are appointed by Democratic and Republican politicians could function effectively on a bipartisan basis and produce a credible product. At the very least, however, the potential benefits of a January 6 commission surely justify giving it a shot. Here’s hoping that ten Republican senators find the courage to buck their craven leadership (as 35 of their House colleagues did) and push the commission bill over the finish line.