House Republicans, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), have released a new report seeking to discredit Congress’s initial investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and exonerate former President Trump of any wrongdoing.
The report accuses the Jan. 6 select committee, which operated under Democratic control, of conducting a partisan witch hunt to harm Trump politically.
The 80-page report blames the Capitol Police leadership for security failures, questions the credibility of key witnesses, and accuses former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of bias in the investigation. It seeks to provide a counter-narrative to the select committee’s findings, which implicated Trump in orchestrating the riot.
House GOP Members (Credits: NY1)
Republican leaders have praised the report as a corrective to what they see as an incomplete narrative by the select committee. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called it an important step in setting the record straight.
Notably absent from the report are details of Trump’s actions surrounding the attack, including his refusal to concede the 2020 election, his encouragement of supporters to march on the Capitol, and his silence during the attack.
Instead, the report focuses on challenging the credibility of witnesses and the fairness of the select committee’s investigation. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired the Jan. 6 select committee, criticized the report as dishonest and an attempt to deflect from Trump’s responsibility for the violence.
House GOP Members (Credits: The New Yorker)
He accused Loudermilk of refusing to answer the select committee’s questions. The report is the precursor to a series of hearings planned by Loudermilk’s committee on the Jan. 6 attack.
The first hearing will focus on the investigation into the pipe bombs found near the Democratic and Republican National Committees the day before the riot.
Republicans have accused the select committee of burying witness transcripts and conducting a biased investigation. They also criticized the process that led to the creation of the select committee, arguing that it was unfair from the start.
The release of the report comes as Trump races to return to the White House in the 2024 election. His role in the Jan. 6 attack remains a divisive issue, with Republicans seeking to downplay his involvement and Democrats emphasizing his responsibility.
