by Nikki Schwab, Geoff Earle and The AP at The Daily Mail
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday on the Senate floor that he would not back a bill that would form a 9/11-style commission into the January 6 Capitol riot.
‘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 the 6th,’ McConnell said.
His move comes after House GOP leadership made the same decision, with a House vote expected Wednesday afternoon.
McConnell’s actions almost definitely doom the legislation, as the Senate leader has had a public falling out with former President Donald Trump, since he refused to concede the election, and especially after the insurrection.
His decision and McCarthy’s prompted a harsh letter that circulated on Capitol Police letterhead, saying the membership was profoundly disappointed.
‘It is inconceivable that some of the Members we protect, would downplay the events of January 6,’ the letter read.
Later, a spokesperson for the Capitol Police said the law enforcement agency did not send the letter, adding drama to the lead-up to the Wednesday afternoon House vote.
However, McConnell also voted to acquit Trump on impeachment charges over inciting an insurrection.
Directly after the February impeachment vote, McConnell said, ‘former President Trump’s actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty,’ and hinted he believed the ex-president could be criminally charged.
‘As everybody surely knows, I repeatedly made my views about the events of January 6 very clear. I spoke clearly and left no doubt about my conclusions,’ McConnell said on the floor Wednesday.
The Kentucky Republican pointed out that law enforcement had made 445 arrests and that federal authorities expect to arrest at least 100 more rioters. He also pointed out that several Senate committees were investigating the insurrection.
‘So there is, has been, and there will continue to be no shortage – no shortage of robust investigations by two separate branches of the federal government,’ McConnell said.
McConnell said it’s ‘not at all clear’ what new facts the commission could unearth.
‘The facts have come out and they’ll continue to come out,’ he said. ‘What is clear is that House Democrats have handled this proposal in partisan bad faith, going right back to the beginning, from initially offering a laughably partisan starting point to continuing to insist on various other features under the hood that are designed to centralize control over the commission’s process and its conclusions in Democratic hands.’…
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