Progress on getting to the bottom of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has been achingly slow, but it's coming.
Precious months immediately following the attack were spent fruitlessly attempting to build a coalition in Congress for a 9/11-style independent commission. That should have happened, but Senate Republican leaders scuttled it.
Since its formation in June, the House select committee, despite a near-complete lack of cooperation by Republicans, has covered a lot of ground, interviewing 150 people and subpoenaing the phone records of 100 individuals thought to have knowledge about the events surrounding that day. They include a number of associates of former President Donald Trump.
Two pivotal figures, Steve Bannon and former chief of staff Mark Meadows, arrogantly ignored their subpoenas. Both have since, appropriately, been cited for contempt. Those contempt votes were necessary to show that a congressional committee cannot be ignored.
It is beyond contemptible to withhold cooperation on such an important investigation and for some Republicans — including, regrettably, Rep. Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota — to have the temerity to dismiss the committee as having a partisan agenda. On the very day of the attack, Fischbach issued a statement that proclaimed "this election was shrouded in allegations of irregularities and fraud too voluminous to ignore. In order to fulfill my duty to the constitution and my constituents, I believe there must be a proper investigation to consider these claims."
There never was and never has been a scintilla of evidence to back up those allegations. And while Fischbach obviously believed an investigation was needed to look into mythical fraud claims, she feels no similar urgency to investigate a physical attack on the Capitol that threatened the lives of lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence. Instead, on Dec. 14, she rose in opposition to Meadows' contempt vote, accusing the House committee of "continuing their witch hunt against President Trump," and declaring the committee was "predestined to be a sham."
Not that other Minnesota Republicans have done any better. Not Rep. Tom Emmer, who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee; not Rep. Jim Hagedorn, and not Rep. Pete Stauber. None of them voted for the independent commission that could have ensured a bipartisan approach. All bowed to House Leader Kevin McCarthy's decision to boycott the formation of the House select committee that represented the last-ditch effort to uncover the facts of Jan. 6. None voted for contempt citations for Bannon and Meadows, whose sneering dismissal of Congress and its subpoenas has been evident for all to see.
Recall, this was an attack that lasted more than three hours; was responsible for the deaths of five people; injured 138 police officers, some gravely, and caused $30 million in damages. We have never gotten a sufficient accounting of Trump's actions during that time, nor of why the Capitol was so lightly guarded that day.
We do know, from texts Meadows supplied before declining to testify, that he exchanged texts with a panicked organizer of the rally who said "things have gotten crazy and I desperately need some direction. Please." Meadows also sent an e-mail before the rally that said the National Guard would be on hand — to "protect pro-Trump people." We know, again from Meadows' own texts and e-mails, that he was encouraging states to send alternate slates of electors in an attempt to tilt the election to Trump.
We also know that even as they were spouting the pro-Trump line on air, Fox luminaries such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and others were privately messaging Meadows with pleas to get Trump on the air to call off the riot. Even Donald Trump Jr. texted Meadows (apparently he couldn't get through to his dad?) telling him that "He's got to condemn this shit ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough." To which Meadows replied, "I'm pushing it hard. I agree."
We know about those texts in part because Rep. Liz Cheney, one of only two Republicans courageous enough to serve on the select committee, read them aloud this week for the public to hear. It is shameful that she and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who is leaving after this term, are the only members of their party who are willing to risk Trump's wrath to get to the truth.
Rest assured, if we are unwilling to learn the lessons of that day, those who attempted what can only be called a coup will only be eager to do so again. If anything, Trump has tightened his grip on his party since leaving office, holding members in an unaccountable thrall. Plans are already being laid in a number of GOP-dominated states that will make it easier to thwart the will of voters, both through attempts to suppress the vote and by enabling state legislatures to intervene if results are not to their liking.
If they truly value the Constitution that so many of them carry in their pockets, we urge Republican lawmakers, particularly those in Minnesota, to stop obstructing. Start engaging in the search for facts. What happened on Jan. 6 must never happen again.
