On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) used her weekly press conference to demand that subpoena power be given to the 9/11-style commission being formed to investigate the Capitol riots that took place last month.
This comes as there were growing fears that the inquiry would become political in nature.
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When asked whether the commission should be able to compel evidence from reluctant witnesses, Pelosi responded, “You have to have subpoena power.”
“According to The New York Post, she added, “There is very strong support in the country for us to seek the facts, to find the truth, but also to realize how we have to protect the American people from what could be out there in terms of domestic terrorism and the rest.
Pelosi revealed that a commission had been formed on Monday after weeks of calls for a 9/11 type investigation, telling her colleagues that there are so many unresolved concerns about the riots. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) told CNN on Wednesday, however, that he had not heard anything from Pelosi or Democratic leaders about this.
“If the vision of Speaker Pelosi of the 9/11 Commission is to remain focused only on Republicans, then she’s really not interested in a commission of the 9/11 type,” he said.
Drew Hamill, Pelosi’s spokesperson, reacted to this by denying that the commission would be partisan.
“Nobody wants to be partisan about this. That’s why the effort here is to emulate what has been done with the 9/11 committee,” he said, “and that suggests that the representatives of the commission are chosen by the four top leaders of Congress and the president.
“It’s a model that worked before,” he said, referring to the fact that it had the power to subpoena the 9/11 Commission. “In this effort, we agree that there is no room for partisanship, but what we can’t have are excuses not to do something instead of reasoning.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) have also expressed support for a 9/11-style commission, with Cheney saying that it should have subpoena power. She also said that it should “be made up of both parties’ retired officials.”
When asked to comment on a proposed commission, McCarthy said, “Over one month ago, Republicans put forward a proposal for a fact-finding commission.” It is our duty to recognize the breakdowns in security and intelligence that contributed to the January 6 riot, so that we can better protect this institution and the men and women employed inside it.
