Richard R. Gerken: Jan. 6 Committee being used by Democrats as smokescreen

To The Daily Sun,

The Democrats' obsession with the riots of Jan. 6, in Washington, D.C. know no limits. They have been flagellating former President Donald Trump, his supporters and conservatives in general with the epic and horrible actions occurring that day which they claim threaten democracy. Vice President Kamala Harris even referred to the event as worse than Pearl Harbor and 9/11/01. Seriously? The riot was shameful, wrong and those responsible should be held accountable. Virtually everyone agrees. However, the events of that day were not an insurrection. Those arrested have largely been charged with criminal trespass and assault and the only person killed that day was a protester. Congress appointed a committee to look into the origins of the D.C. riots but not the Antifa- and Black Lives Matter-led multi-city riots during summer 2020 when billions of dollars of property were destroyed, hundreds of police officers injured and scores of deaths. Moreover, this Jan. 6 Committee is far from fair and impartial, and has a preconceived outcome.

The whole committee voted to impeach Trump over Jan. 6 including the two token Republicans. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were approved by Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she rejected Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, appointed by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. The committee chair Bennie Thompson told the press that investigations of the origins of the Jan. 6 riots would not include interviewing Speaker Pelosi or D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. That is troubling, because the pair could supply information about why the Capitol was not better protected. It is an available fact that Trump on Jan. 4 offered to call 20,000 National Guard soldiers to assist in protecting the Capitol. Mayor Bowser refused to accept them. The chief of the D.C. security force asked six times for additional forces but was denied by Speaker Pelosi who had the authority to grant such a request. Would Jan. 6 have occurred with 20,000 National Guard troops on hand? The committee has not called on or referred Ray Epps for criminal investigation despite photographic evidence of inciting protesters to storm the Capitol the night before the riot and after President Trump’s exhortation to the protestors to peaceably proceed to the Capitol. Also, thousands of feet of film of the riot and the breach of the Capitol have inexplicably not been released to the public.

The Jan. 6 Committee, one year after the event, is being used by the Democrats as a smokescreen and excuse to push the radical Biden agenda of ending the Senate filibuster, revoking Constitutionally-authorized state election laws in favor of a federal takeover, packing the Supreme Court and other spending and social programs. They are trying to divert attention from the failed Biden administration policies including a 40-year high inflation rate, supply chain disruptions, soaring energy prices, the immigration crisis on the southern border, the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle, soaring crime including gun violence and deaths in our cities, and the disjointed approach to the COVID pandemic where more people died in 2021 under Biden than in 2020 under Trump.

Richard R. Gerken

Meredith