Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced in a floor statement that he opposes the formation of an independent bipartisan commission to investigate the causes and impact of the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol, CNN reports.
“After careful consideration, I’ve made the decision to oppose the House Democrats slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of January 6th. As everybody surely knows, I repeatedly made my views about the events of January 6th very clear. I spoke clearly and left no doubt about my conclusions,” McConnell said.
“The facts have come out and will continue to come out,” McConnell added in a self-contradictory statement.
McConnell joins House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in opposing the independent commission proposed by Democrat Bennie Thompson and Republican John Katko, their Parties’ leaders on the House Homeland Security committee.
The proposed commission would consist of ten members, with the two Parties choosing five each. Democrats would choose the chair, with Republicans choosing the vice chair. Democrats made a major concession in negotiations in giving Republicans the ability to veto subpoenas to specific people.
The latest Republican talking point on an investigatory commission is that it either should not be established, or that it should include investigations into Black Lives Matter protests that happened in Washington, DC; activities of antifa; and even the shooting of Republican Congressman at a baseball practice in 2017. None of those events had anything to do with the right-wing violence perpetrated by followers of Donald Trump to undermine the peaceful transfer of power after Trump lost the November 2020 election.