From PBS NewsHour.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., one of two Republicans who served on the House committee to investigate the U.S. Capitol attack, said he was shocked that more fellow lawmakers didn’t speak out about President Donald Trump’s role in the events of that day.
“Nothing that I did was heroic, but I was just surrounded by a bunch of cowards that were too scared to do it,” he told House Democrats.
House Democrats reconvened the former special committee that investigated the attack to hear from witnesses and lawmakers about their experiences from that day and ongoing threats to elections.
In 2022, Congress approved an official plaque honoring the Capitol police and other agencies who defended the building, giving a one-year deadline for installation. It’s never been installed, though the architect at the Capitol has testified it is complete. House Speaker Mike Johnson told the Associated Press that the statue requiring the installation of the plaque was "not implementable."
Two officers have sued the administration in an effort to force installation of the plaque. While the case is tied up in court, Democrats have erected makeshift memorials in the Capitol.
“The plaque is very simple. You don’t have to say that Donald Trump won or lost 2020. All you have to say is D.C. Metro and Capitol police did a hell of a job defending this Capitol that day,” Kinzinger said. “So why the speaker can’t do it? Because he’s scared of people saying, ‘Oh my gosh, you put up a plaque.’”
The House Jan. 6 panel spent 18 months investigating the attack, President Donald Trump’s role in the events and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Members interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses, some in live public hearings. The committee voted to refer Trump to the Justice Department for prosecution on four federal charges, including aiding an insurrection and conspiracy to defraud the United States, marking the first time Congress referred a former president for criminal charges. The panel disbanded in 2023.
Since starting his second term, Trump has pardoned or commuted sentences for more than 1,500 charged in connection with the attack.
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