News / Politics

Democrats call for independent 9/11-style panel to probe Capitol raid

Sunday, 24 January 2021 7:37 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 January 2021 7:37 PM ]

The US Capitol Building following a rainstorm on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, on December 4, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)

Congressional Democrats have called for the formation of an independent commission similar to the one that investigated the 9/11 attacks to look into the violent assault on the US Capitol early this month.

The House Democrats demanded on Sunday that a bipartisan commission be organized to more broadly focus on the growing threat of domestic terrorism and violent extremism after the July 6 incident.

The call gained further momentum this week after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was all but inevitable that Congress would create a commission.

“We will have an after-action review; there will be a commission,” said Pelosi, who had served on a special joint House and Senate committee that investigated the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Over the past week, lawmakers in both parties have also floated various proposals for independent, bipartisan commissions like the one Congress and then-President George W. Bush created after the 9/11 attacks that toppled the World Trade Center towers, incapacitated the Pentagon and targeted the Capitol building.

Last week, with the support of 10 Republicans, the Democratic-controlled House voted to charge former President Donald Trump over his role in the invasion of the Capitol that left five people dead.

Majority of Americans blame Trump for Capitol chaos: Poll

A majority of Americans have blamed US President Donald Trump for inciting his loyalists for violence at the Capitol earlier this month, according to a new poll.

Trump was charged with inciting an insurrection when the lawmakers were busy certifying the victory of Joe Biden in the disputed 2020 presidential election.

The bipartisan effort kicked off in the lower chamber of Congress in a bid to remove Trump from office before his tenure ended on Wednesday. Trump faces a trial in the Senate and will be barred from ever holding a public office if convicted.

Following the violence, members of both parties condemned the unprecedented attack, but later a number of Senate Republicans opposed Trump’s trial.

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