On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced plans to launch an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. In a letter to lawmakers, Pelosi said that an assessment of Congressional security by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore in the wake of the insurrection has presented a necessity to “get to the truth of how this happened,” adding, “To protect our security, our security, our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to ‘investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex.”
Pelosi had previously called to “establish a 9/11-type commission” to probe and report the causes and security failures that made it possible for a mob to breach the Capitol building as lawmakers certified President Joe Biden’s November election win. In a news conference earlier this month, Pelosi told reporters that House members would not serve on the commission and it would place an increased focus on diversity, saying, “Different from 9/11. What were there, nine people? All white, one woman. It will look different.”
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