Following the acquittal of former President Donald Trump this weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is calling for a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
In a letter released on Monday, the Speaker of the House discussed the significance of President’s Day, celebrating the birthdays of “America’s two greatest presidents: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.” The letter continues, saying that the United States “was blessed with the great patriotism of these presidents. And now we are grateful for the great patriotism of our Impeachment Managers,” who she describes as doing an “excellent job defending our democracy and honoring our Constitution.”
Pelosi details the work that Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré has been doing in order to look into security needs and make sure that the attack on the Capitol building is never repeated. Lt. General Honoré is a retired Army Lieutenant General whom Pelosi assigned to lead a review of the security of the U.S. Capitol after the January 6 attack.
Pelosi explains that his findings, along with the impeachment trial, have made it “clear” that “we must get to the truth of how this happened.” She also included an emphasis on the need for “a supplemental appropriation to provide for the safety of Members and the security of the Capitol.”
Her letter reads,
To protect our security, our security, our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to “investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex… and relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power, including facts and causes relating to the preparedness and response of the United States Capitol Police and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the National Capitol Region.”
Pelosi concluded the statement by referring again to the country’s founders, saying, “we must be worthy of the courage and wisdom of the patriarch of our country, George Washington, and of the savior of our country, Abraham Lincoln.”
The Speaker’s request to House Democrats for funding to establish such a commission comes after questions emerged about her own possible role in the lack of security at the Capitol on January 6 was brought up this week.
On Monday, House Republicans called on the Speaker to provide answers to key security questions regarding January 6.
The House Republicans’ letter, addressed to Speaker Pelosi, reads, “Five weeks have passed since the January 6th attack on the Capitol building, and many important questions about your responsibility for the security of the Capitol remain unanswered.”
The Daily Wire reported,
Specifically, the House GOP wants to know whether Pelosi had a hand in denying a request from Capitol Police chief Steven Sund for National Guard backup.
“When then-Chief Sund made a request for national guard support on January 4th, why was that request denied?” the Republicans wrote. “Did Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving get permission or instruction from your staff on January 4th prior to denying Chief Sund’s request for the national guard?”
Both parties have expressed interest in a “9/11 commission”-style investigation of how the Capitol riots were allowed to happen.
CNN reports that earlier this month, Pelosi sent a separate letter to Democrats in the House, similarly writing that it is “clear that we will need to establish a 9/11-type Commission to examine and report upon the facts, causes and security relating to the terrorist mob attack on January 6.”
She also reportedly said it would not look the same as the one created after September 11th, 2001. At the time, she was complimentary of the 9/11 commission but added that “it’s a different world” now and there would be more diversity on this one. She did confirm then that it would not include members and would be “an outside commission.”