Vote passed to hold new investigation into Capitol siege

THE HOUSE of Representatives has launched a new investigation into the Capitol insurrection of January 6, approving a special committee to probe the violent attack.

The vote to form the panel was 222-190, with Republicans objecting that majority Democrats would be in charge.

The action came after Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an independent commission that would have been evenly split between the two parties.

Emphasising the importance Democrats attached to the vote, House speaker Nancy

Pelosi, inset, told legislators in the chamber: “We will be judged by future generations as to how we value our democracy.”

Liz Cheney, who lost her position in the Republican leadership because of her criticism of Mr Trump, was one of only two in the party to vote for the panel, saying: “Our nation, and the families of the brave law enforcement officers who were injured defending us or died following the attack, deserve answers.”

Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup rejected the new investigation as “incomplete and insufficient” because it would not look into other incidents including the 2017 shooting at a baseball field that badly injured Republican Steve Scalise.

Ms Pelosi said she preferred that an independent panel lead the inquiry but Congress could wait no longer to begin a deeper look at the insurrection that was the worst attack on the Capitol in more than 200 years.

Tensions have worsened in Congress since Mr Trump’s supporters laid siege, aiming to stop Congress’s certification of his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

A brief sense of shared outrage has given way to partisan politics and attempts among some Republicans to downplay the events of the day. Most Republicans have made clear they want to move on from the insurrection – and Mr Trump’s role – though many of them had fled the violent mob themselves.

Democrats expressed frustration with those Republicans who have complained that the investigation would be partisan after their party blocked the bipartisan panel.

“I think for some on the other side, nothing that gets to the truth will ever be good enough, because they do not want the truth,” said Rules Committee chairman Jim McGovern, who led the debate ahead of the vote.