House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is doubling down on calls for a 9/11-style commission on the Capitol attack, following the impeachment and acquittal of former President Donald Trump in the Senate this past weekend.
In a letter to House Democrats, Pelosi urged lawmakers to appropriate additional funds for better House member security and advocated for an independent commission to investigate the circumstances that led to the deadly Jan. 6 riot, after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.
Pelosi said initial reporting from retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who began a security review of the Capitol last month, highlighted the need for such an investigation.
“It is clear from his findings and from the impeachment trial that we must get to the truth of how this happened,” she wrote to her colleagues. “To protect our security, our security, our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission.”
She also said Honoré’s feedback indicated the need for “supplemental appropriation to provide for the safety of Members and the security of the Capitol.”
On Sunday’s Meet the Press, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., argued that the House managers’ presentation had created its own record of the attacks.
“I wanted to make sure that the Soviet-style revisionists on the Republican side who are trying to blame everybody but Donald Trump had a record in front of the American people that was clear. I think Jamie Raskin and the House managers made that record with clarity,” Durbin said. “And that’s the important historic record to show this generation of doubters and any future generation.”
Meanwhile, Republican House members have sought to push some of the blame for the attacks on Pelosi. Earlier Monday, a group of House Republicans issued a letter demanding answers as to what the speaker knew regarding the Capitol’s security posture Jan. 6.
