Here's part of a press release just issued by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, on a bill he plans to introduce with Ranking Member John Katko (R-NY) to establish a "Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the Capitol":
- The Commission will be charged with studying the facts and circumstances surrounding the facts and circumstances of the January 6th attack on the Capitol as well as the influencing factors that may have provoked the attack on our democracy.
- Like the 9/11 Commission, the measure establishes a 10-person bipartisan commission with five commissioners, including the Chair, appointed by the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader of the Senate and five commissioners, including the Vice Chair, be appointed by the Minority Leaders of the House and Senate.
- Commissioners must have significant expertise in the areas of law enforcement, civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, intelligence, and cybersecurity. Current government officers or employees are prohibited from appointment.
- Like the 9/11 Commission, the Commission will be granted authority to issue subpoenas to secure information to carry out its investigation but requires agreement between the Chair and the Vice Chair or a vote by a majority of Commission members.
- The Commission will be required to issue a final report with findings regarding the facts and causes of the attack, along with recommendations to prevent future attacks on our democratic institutions, by December 31, 2021.
This stands an excellent chance of passing the House with votes from both sides of the aisle and, we would speculate, a better than even chance of passing in the Senate.
