McCarthy: Jan. 6 Commission a 'sham'

(22 Jul 2021) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4336518 House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says a committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is a 'sham." "Doesn't matter today what she does with that committee, because it's not going to change the outcome of what it seems like, a pretty determined are already written report," said McCarthy on Capitol HIll Thursday. "What really comes down to is there are two questions. Why were we so ill prepared? If you read the Senate report, you know, they knew it, December 14. Why were we so ill prepared? Second is, you've got to make sure it never happens or has the ability to happen again." This comes after McCarthy said on Wednesday that Republicans won’t participate after Pelosi rejected two of the Republicans he chose to sit on the panel, Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio. Pelosi made clear on Thursday that she won’t relent, telling reporters that the two men “took actions that made it ridiculous to put them on such a committee seeking the truth.” Banks and Jordan are outspoken allies of former President Donald Trump, whose supporters laid siege to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s electiwin. Both men voted to overturn the election results in the hours after the siege. It is unclear, for now, whether Pelosi will try and appoint other members to the panel, as she has the authority to do under committee rules. And how McCarthy would lead a separate investigation, as the minority does not have the power to set up committees. He said the panel has lost “all legitimacy” because Pelosi wouldn’t allow the Republicans to name their own members. Most in the GOP have remained loyal to Trump despite the violent insurrection of his supporters that sent many lawmakers running for their lives. McCarthy wouldn’t say for weeks whether Republicans would even participate in the probe, but he sent the five names to Pelosi on Monday. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...