Call to Action: Request Your Senators Support a Bipartisan Commission to Investigate the January 6 Insurrection

On January 6, 2021, Americans watched, horrified, as an attack was carried out on our nation’s Capitol building, threatening all members of the U.S. Congress and hundreds of staff and security personnel. The result was tragic, with as many as 150 people injured or killed. This assault was not only physical but also symbolic, as it sought to disrupt the Constitutionally mandated process of certifying the electoral ballots. Motivated by a big lie, the insurrection was a bald-faced assault on the institutions and norms of American democracy. 

When America has been attacked in the past, as with the September 11 terrorist attacks, an independent bipartisan commission has been established to investigate the events. Such is required now in order to protect Americans from future attacks. A 10-person commission, with five appointed by Republicans and five by Democrats, would be tasked with evaluating which systems failed and how to ensure it doesn’t happen again. It would seek to bring to light any parties who contributed to this deadly assault. 

To do:

Contact your senators to let them know you support the creation of a bipartisan commission tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. In just a few minutes, you can submit a letter to both your senators at once via our website. You will answer some short prompts to have a personalized letter created for you, which you can also edit and further individualize before submitting. Go HERE to submit a prompted letter or HERE to submit an unprompted one.

Background:

On Jan. 6, 2021, Americans watched, horrified, as an assault was carried out by domestic terrorists on our nation’s Capitol building, threatening all members of the U.S. Congress and hundreds of staff and security personnel. The result was tragic, with as many as 150 people injured or killed. This attack was unprecedented — the only other time in our nation’s history the Capitol has been breached was more than 200 years ago during the War of 1812.

This assault is even more troubling, because it was politically motivated and perpetrated by American citizens seeking to stop the peaceful and Constitutional transfer of presidential power.

In the days immediately following the insurrection, politicians from both sides of the aisle decried the events. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the mob that stormed the building had been “fed lies” and “provoked by the president” to carry out its assault. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) wrote: “The violence of today cannot become commonplace in America. This was not protest; protest is peaceful. This was violent insurrection incited by Donald Trump.” Sen. Mitt Romney stated, “What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the president of the United States, . . .  an unprecedented attack against our democracy.” Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Trump “bears responsibility” for the violence, also stating he was unwilling to impeach the president because, “No investigations have been completed. No hearings have been held.” Now is the time for those hearings. 

As with other terrorist attacks, this deadly attack should be investigated by a bipartisan commission. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) called for a bipartisan commission with subpoena power “to seek and find facts. . . . This is critical to defeat the misinformation and nonsense circulating in the press and on social media.” The chairs of the Sept. 11 commission — former congressman Lee Jordan (D-IN) and former governor Tom Kean (R-NJ) — urged Congress to legislate for such a commission now, stating, “The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was one of the darkest days in the history of our country. Americans deserve an objective and an accurate account of what happened. As we did in the wake of September 11, it’s time to set aside partisan politics and come together as Americans in common pursuit of truth and justice.” 

To ensure bipartisan support for such a commission, Rep. John Katko (R-NY), the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, was appointed by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to work with Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of that committee. The legislation is specific about the proposed commission’s purpose: “To investigate and report upon the facts and causes relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack . . . and relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power . . . as well as the influencing factors that fomented such attack on American representative democracy while engaged in a constitutional process.”

But when Katko struck an agreement that included most of McCarthy’s demands, the GOP leader balked at the plan, refusing to support it when it came up for a vote in the House. Even so, the bill passed in a 252-175 vote, with every Democrat and 35 Republicans in support. Now there is great concern that the 50-member Senate GOP is ready to mount a filibuster of this legislation instead of supporting what was once clearly bipartisan.

Despite the adoption of the demands from McCarthy, some have argued that the commission would be partisan. Rep. Katko disagreed, stating, “This is about facts — it’s not partisan politics.” The composition of the commission also weakens that argument: The commission would include a 10-member panel. Half those members, including the chair, would be appointed by Democratic congressional leaders and half, including the vice chair, by Republicans. With approval by a majority of commission members or by agreement between the Democratic chairman and Republican vice chair, the panel would be able to issue subpoenas. Finally, the commission would be tasked with issuing a final report by the end of this year to avoid influencing midterm elections. 

Some have questioned the necessity of an independent commission when there are ongoing criminal and congressional investigations. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who chairs the House Administration Committee, held hearings on the attack. Although the panel uncovered “serious errors” leading up to the attack, it does not answer questions about who incited the mob. She said, “That’s why we need a bipartisan, prestigious, top-of-the-line commission to find out what happened and why it happened.” It specifies that the commission will “build upon the investigations of other entities and avoid unnecessary duplication by reviewing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other . . . investigations.”

Some have argued it is too late or that all questions have already been answered. In response to this “thinnest” of arguments, political commentator Jennifer Rubin came up with nearly 40 questions we still need to have answered. Among these are: 

• Did any members of Congress have communications with the insurrectionists? Who were they, and what role — if any — did they play?
• What did Vice President Mike Pence know about the Jan. 6 event? What did he know about efforts to target him for refusing to block the confirmation of Biden’s election? Was he requested to commit election fraud/overthrow the election results?
• What errors did the FBI make? The Capitol Police? The D.C. police?
• Did the president or anyone in the White House communicate with the organizers of the rally that took place before violence broke out?

There are additional questions whose answers would help us avoid future such incidents:

• How do we defend the Capitol without compromising public access to the seat of government?
• How do we shore up trust in the electoral system?
• Do we need new laws or resources to root out domestic terrorism? What are the privacy and First Amendment considerations?

As Rep. Katko said, “[T]he American people and the Capitol Police deserve answers and action as soon as possible to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.” 

We must not forget that the insurrection was a unique and unprecedented attack. It was not only a physical but also a symbolic attack on our government, as it sought to disrupt the Constitutionally mandated process of certifying the electoral ballots.

As Sen. Amy Klobuchar said, “When an angry violent mob staged an insurrection on January 6 and desecrated our Capitol — the temple of our democracy — it was not just an attack on the building, it was an attack on our Republic itself.” Those insurgents — and any government officials who supported them — broke with one of the cornerstone principles of ethical government: the “duty to respect the rule of law, including accepted processes for how the law is to be established, executed, and interpreted (see Mosiah 29:25, 28-29)” (MWEG Principle of Ethical Government 1).

A bipartisan commission would help to safeguard other ideals that are core to good governance, including the need to be honest and transparent, to eschew conflicts of interest, and to promote deliberation, reduce polarization, and stimulate compromise. Being unwilling to investigate this attack rejects transparency, promotes conflicts of interest, and increases polarization on an issue on which all Americans should stand unified: the protection of our institutions and the norms of American democracy.

There are still many unanswered questions about the attacks, and it is imperative there is bipartisan support in an investigation to have transparency and trust in the process. Contact your senators to ask them to vote for the creation of a bipartisan commission tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.