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Pelosi announces "9/11-type Commission" to probe Capitol attack after Trump acquittal

16 February 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a letter to House Democrats Monday an independent "9/11-type Commission" would be set up to investigate the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.

Why it matters: Calls for a bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly attack have grown in recent weeks, and escalated since former President Trump was acquitted on Saturday.

  • This could be the last avenue for some lawmakers to hold Trump to account for the siege.
  • Republicans to support an independent inquiry include Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a key ally of the former president who voted to acquit him.

What she's saying: "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 ... domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex," Pelosi said in her letter.

  • "And relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power, including facts and causes relating to the preparedness and response of the United States Capitol Police and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the National Capitol Region."

For the record: Pelosi last month appointed Lt. General Russel Honoré to conduct a security infrastructure review of the Capitol following the riots.

  • After consulting with Honoré, Pelosi wrote Monday that she would move forward with plans for emergency funding laws "to provide for the safety of members and the security of the Capitol."

Of note: Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), James Comer (R-Ky.), Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) wrote to Pelosi on Monday to express concerns about the independence of Honoré and his final recommendations, and whether the Speaker would have an influence on the outcome.

What to watch: Legislation would probably be needed to establish a commission, like the one created following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which saw then-President George W. Bush signed a law giving the panel investigation powers, the New York Times notes.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.