Republicans abandon Capitol riot probe after Pelosi rejects Jordan,
Banks
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[July 22, 2021]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The top
Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday withdrew
his five nominees to serve on the special committee probing the deadly
Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
rejected two of them.
Pelosi had earlier rejected Representatives Jim Jordan and Jim Banks,
staunch defenders of former President Donald Trump, from serving on the
panel investigating the Trump supporters who assaulted Congress in an
attempt to stop it from certifying President Joe Biden's election.
The violence followed a fiery speech in which Trump repeated his false
claims that his defeat was the result of widespread fraud and urged his
supporters to "fight" the election outcome.
"With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence
on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by
these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives
Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee," Pelosi said in a statement.
“The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented
decision."
Pelosi created the 13-member panel after congressional Republicans
rejected a bipartisan panel to probe the violence, which saw hundreds of
Trump supporters storm the building, assaulting police, smashing windows
and sending lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence scrambling for
safety.
"Republicans will not be party to their sham process and will instead
pursue our own investigation of the facts," House Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy said in a statement withdrawing his nominees.
Pelosi had previously appointed one Republican, Liz Cheney, to the
panel. Pelosi had said she would accept McCarthy's other three nominees
-- Representatives Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong and Troy Nehls -- and
had asked him to pick two new members.
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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi takes part in an enrollment ceremony
for the 'VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021' on
Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 21, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth
Frantz
Cheney, who was stripped of her leadership position
among House Republicans for rejecting Trump's false claims, told
reporters she would remain on the commission and agreed with
Pelosi's decision.
"I am absolutely confident that we will have a non-partisan
investigation," she told reporters.
Jordan is an ardent Trump supporter who served as one of his main
defenders during his two impeachment trials, the latter of which was
on a charge of inciting the Capitol riot. The
then-Republican-controlled Senate acquitted Trump both times.
Four people died on the day of the violence, one shot dead by police
and the other three of natural causes. A Capitol Police officer who
had been attacked by protesters died the following day. Two police
officers who responded to the assault on the Capitol later took
their own lives. More than a hundred police officers were injured.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone,
Susan Heavey and Aurora Ellis)
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