House Republicans will continue investigating the January 6 insurrection, attempting to undermine the prior investigation that found Donald Trump responsible and rewrite the narrative about the deadly Capitol siege.
House speaker Mike Johnson announced on Wednesday that a new select subcommittee will be formed to investigate “all events leading up to and after January 6”. The move comes after the president pardoned or commuted sentences for every defendant convicted for their roles in January 6, including those convicted of violence against Capitol police and the leaders of extremist groups.
The pardons, and the repeated attempts to recast January 6 not as a day of violent rioting but as citizens airing grievances who were egged on by federal agents, could lead to further political violence, experts say.
The subcommittee will be chaired by Republican representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia. In December, a previous version of the committee led by Loudermilk concluded that Liz Cheney should face charges for investigating Trump’s role in January 6. Trump has frequently taken aim at Cheney and his other political enemies. Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Cheney before leaving office on Monday.
Among those involved in the January 6 attack and its supporters, the belief that they were set up and not responsible for their actions is persistent. In recent weeks, they have pointed to a Department of Justice inspector general report that showed 26 informants were at the Capitol that day as evidence they were coerced.
Loudermilk claimed in a statement that January 6 resulted from a “series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities” that he will continue to try to uncover.
Johnson said the subcommittee will “uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people”.
“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is still more work to be done,” Johnson said in a statement.
