NANCY KO’S GOP PICKS
Furor over 1/6 panel
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has blocked high-profile Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks from a special committee to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, drawing outrage from critics who say her move confirmed the probe is a partisan “sham.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called Pelosi’s Wednesday surprise an “egregious abuse of power” and said he’d yank three other Republicans from the panel in response.
“Pelosi has broken this institution,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said at a hastily arranged press conference, adding that she “admitted to me” there was no other instance in which a House speaker blocked minority-party picks from a select committee.
McCarthy said Republicans wanted to focus on security failures that allowed a pro-Trump mob to break into the Capitol and disrupt certification of President Biden’s electoral victory. He threatened to forge ahead with “our own investigation.”
“She went further than anyone’s gone before. I think it’s very clear to the American public that this is a sham,” McCarthy said.
“It’s undeniable this panel has lost all legitimacy and credibility. It shows exactly what I warned back at the beginning of January: that Pelosi would play politics with this.”
Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not say why Jordan (R-Ohio) and Banks (R-Ind.) were rejected, but the two conservatives were expected to defend former President Donald Trump and try to flip the script on Democrats, who they claim hypocritically overlooked rioting last year that took place during anti-police-brutality protests.
Republicans say they believe Pelosi and Democrats intend to use the committee to bash them ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
In a statement, Pelosi said, “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.
“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken
by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee.”
Banks said Pelosi’s decision proves that the Democrats’ intentions were politically motivated.
“It really made me angry. I served my country in Afghanistan and she is saying that I’m not up to playing a serious role on this January 6 committee,” he told The Post.
“But it just goes to show all along this was never a serious effort on their part. It’s all a political witch hunt. They want to make this all about Donald Trump, dragging Republican members of Congress through the mud and attacking 75 million people that voted for Donald Trump.”
Pelosi accepted the three other Republican panelists recommended by McCarthy — Kelly Armstrong (ND), Troy Nehls (Texas) amd Rodney Davis (Ill.) — and she had previously appointed another Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.