Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2021)
A14 The BulleTin • Thursday, May 20, 2021 House backs commission on Jan. 6 riot over GOP objections BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to create an independent com- mission on the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, sending the legislation to an uncertain future in the Senate as Republican leaders work to stop a bipartisan investigation that is opposed by former Pres- ident Donald Trump. Democrats say an indepen- dent investigation is crucial to reckoning what happened that day, when a violent mob of Trump’s supporters smashed into the Capitol to try and overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. Modeled after the in- vestigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the legislation would establish an indepen- dent, 10-member commission that would make recommen- dations by the end of the year for securing the Capitol and preventing another insurrec- tion. The bill passed the House 252-175, with 35 Republi- cans voting with Democrats in support of the commission including Rep. Cliff Bentz, of Ontario. They defied Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy. Trump is- sued a statement urging Re- publicans to vote against it, calling the legislation a “Dem- ocrat trap.” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is trying to prevent defections among his own ranks, echoing Mc- Carthy’s opposition in a Sen- ate floor speech Wednesday morning. Both men claimed the bill was partisan, even though membership of the proposed commission would be evenly split between the parties. The January insurrection Jose Luis Magana/AP file Supporters of then-President Donald Trump climb the wall of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6. has become an increasingly fraught topic for Republicans, with a growing number in the party downplaying the sever- ity of the worst attack on the Capitol in more than 200 years. While most Republicans voted against forming the commis- sion, only a few spoke on the floor against it. And the hand- ful of Republicans who backed the commission spoke force- fully. “This is about facts — it’s not partisan politics,” said New York Rep. John Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Commit- tee who negotiated the legisla- tion with Democrats. He said, “the American people and the Capitol Police deserve answers, and action as soon as possible to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.” Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said that Jan. 6 “is going to haunt this institution for a long, long time” and that a commission is necessary to find the truth about what happened. He recalled that he “heard the shouts, saw the flash-bangs, smelled the gas on that sorry day.” Democrats grew angry as some Republicans suggested the commission was only in- tended to smear Trump. Sev- eral shared their own memo- ries of the insurrection, when rioters brutally beat police, broke in through windows and doors and sent lawmakers run- ning. Four of the rioters died, including a woman who was shot and killed by police as she tried to break into the House chamber. A Capitol Police of- ficer collapsed and died after engaging with the protesters, and two officers took their own lives in the days after. “We have people scaling the Capitol, hitting the Capitol Po- lice with lead pipes across the head, and we can’t get biparti- sanship? What else has to hap- pen in this country?” shouted Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, on the floor just before the vote. He said the GOP opposition is “a slap in the face to every rank and file cop in the United Portland commits to clean or act more strictly. The change comes remove homeless encampments after officials in charge of cleaning The city of Portland announced Wednesday it plans to more aggres- sively clean, downsize or remove home- less encampments starting Monday. After a year of avoiding or limiting encampment evictions, the city will and removing street camping sites concluded their passive approach “has been ineffective,” according to a memo released by the city. Instead of allowing extended time for campers to comply with rules — including separating tents by at least 6 States.” The vote was yet another test of Republican loyalty to Trump, whose grip on the party remains strong despite his election defeat. House Republicans booted Wyo- ming Rep. Liz Cheney from their leadership last week for her criticism of Trump’s false claims, installing a Trump loy- alist in her place. Cheney, in turn, suggested to ABC News that a commission could sub- poena McCarthy because he spoke to Trump during the in- surrection. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called McCarthy’s opposition to the commission “cowardice.” She released a February letter from the GOP leader in which he asked for an even split of Democrats and Republican commissioners, equal subpoena power and no predetermined findings or conclusions. The biparti- san legislation accommodates all three of those requests, she said. “Leader McCarthy won’t feet and keeping sidewalks, building entrances and accessibility ramps clear for pedestrians — the city will instead immediately post an eviction notice if certain health and safety concerns are present. The office that wrote the new rules answers to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler via his chief administrative of- ficer and longtime ally Tom Rinehart. take yes for an answer,” she said. In the Senate, McConnell’s announcement dimmed the prospects for passage, as Dem- ocrats would need at least 10 Republicans to vote with them. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to force a vote on the bill, charging that Republicans are “caving” to Trump. Schumer said that Republi- cans are trying to “sabotage the commission” and are “drunk” off Trump’s baseless claim that the election was stolen from him. That false assertion, re- peated by the mob as the riot- ers broke into the Capitol, has been rebuked by numerous courts, bipartisan election of- ficials across the country and Trump’s own attorney general. Like in the House, some Senate Republicans have sug- gested they will support the legislation. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said Tuesday that given the violent attack, “we should understand what mistakes were made and how we could prevent them from happening again.” Loui- siana Sen. Bill Cassidy said he doesn’t agree with McConnell that the bill is slanted toward Democrats and “I’m inclined to support it.” Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said that she sup- ports the idea of a commission but that the House bill would need adjustments. Others have pushed their colleagues to oppose the com- mission. Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, the top Republican on the Senate Rules Committee, is working on a report with his Democratic colleagues that will include recommendations for security upgrades. He said an independent investiga- tion would take too long and “We have found that encampments return to a state of non-compliance within a matter of days, if not hours, depending on the location,” according to the memo written by city staff. In a joint statement, all five city commissioners expressed support for the change, casting the stepped up evictions as good for people experi- “frankly, I don’t think there are that many gaps to be filled in on what happened on Jan. 6, as it relates to building security.” South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, cited concern in the caucus that the investi- gation could be “weaponized politically” in the 2022 election cycle. “I want our midterm mes- sage to be about the kinds of issues that the American peo- ple are dealing with,” Thune said. “It’s jobs and wages and the economy, national security, safe streets, strong borders and those types of issues, and not relitigating the 2020 election.” Separately Wednesday, aides to Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., circulated a letter they said was from a group of around 40 to 50 anonymous U.S. Capitol Police officers who had been speaking with the congress- man. “It is inconceivable that some of the Members we pro- tect would downplay the events of January 6th,” the letter reads. “It is a privileged assumption for Members to have the point of view that ‘it wasn’t that bad.’ That privilege exists because the brave men and women of the USCP protected you, the Members.” The letter was quickly re- pudiated by Capitol Police leaders, who said the agency doesn’t take any position on legislative matters. Raskin said in an interview Wednesday evening that the officers approached his office with the letter, and that they and their families have been traumatized about what hap- pened on the 6th. Raskin said “they can’t believe there is dis- sension in the Congress” about the simple facts of the insur- rection. encing homelessness. “These new protocols repriori- tize public health and safety among houseless Portlanders and aim to im- prove sanitary conditions until we have additional shelter beds and hous- ing available,” Wheeler and the rest of the City Council wrote. — The Oregonian
