In fact, members of the former 9/11 Commission – several of whom have consulted with Pelosi – cited that even partisan split as the reason for their success when they advised Pelosi on this year’s insurgency commission. Their willingness to take dual ownership of the direction of the investigation, without any benefit to either side, helped ensure the committee’s credibility in the eyes of the public, they said. For a review of the January 6 riot to be credible, the former commissioners said, it should be viewed in the same way as independent and unbiased, rather than an instrument of either side.
“There is really strong support in the country to seek the truth, to find the truth, but also to understand how to protect the American people from what could happen in the field of domestic terrorism and the rest”, Pelosi told reporters. late last week.
Pelosi said the investigation panel would closely mirror the 9/11 Commission, but the Democrats’ opening bid clearly shows that they would have preferred a vastly different balance of power.
A senior Democratic assistant warned that the two sides are still exchanging offers and that nothing is final. In the draft Democratic discussion, each of the so-called “Big Four” congressional leaders could nominate two members to the committee. President Joe Biden would be allowed to elect three additional members, including the chairman, who would have the power to subpoena.
Under the Pelosi proposal, the committee should issue a report by the end of this year, with the panel dissolving 60 days after the report is completed.
The 9/11 Commission was a ten-member body made up of five Democrats and five Republicans. The Chairman, former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean, was appointed by then President George W. Bush. The Vice Chairman, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, was appointed by the Democratic leaders of the Congress. Both told POLITICO last week that they saw their mandate as removing any extreme bias within the ranks of the committee, especially the staff who ultimately carried out the investigation.
They, as well as other former members of the 9/11 committee, said the subpoena was an essential bat they used only once – but one that proved effective in harnessing testimony from other reluctant witnesses. The former 9/11 commissioners also said the commission should not see artificial deadlines.
“It must be created in the first place in a way that it can succeed and not be constructed to fail,” said Tim Roemer, one of the Democratic appointees on the 9/11 panel, who also spoke with Pelosi and other House Democrats.
One challenge that a January 6 committee would face is the conflict with the ongoing criminal investigations as a result of the riot. Prosecutors have indicted more than 200 participants in the January 6 attack, and their cases are in the early stages, which could make access to key witnesses difficult, especially if the committee is expected to issue a report by the end of the year. bring out.
Biden’s attorney general candidate, Merrick Garland, said on Monday that he plans to make the probe in the Capitol a top priority in his early tenure, a signal that the probe is likely to increase in the coming weeks.