Pelosi announces select committee to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol riot
24 June 2021
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday that she will create a House select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Why it matters: The creation of a single Democratic-controlled special committee, which will consolidate several House investigations, comes after Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have established a bipartisan 9/11-style commission.
- While Republicans would have had equal control over the blocked 9/11-style investigative commission, it's unlikely they will have the same leverage over the House select committee investigation.
- Republicans who opposed the bipartisan commission argued that it would be "extraneous" in light of the sweeping criminal investigation being carried out by the Justice Department.
The big picture: Democrats have argued the commission is urgently needed to investigate one of the darkest days in U.S. history, while many Republicans fear an investigation could be used to damage them politically before the 2022 midterms.
- Several House Republicans have sought to downplay the severity of the riot and refused to meet with Capitol Police officers who had urged them to back the commission.
- The Senate Homeland Security and Rules committees released a report earlier this month on the security and intelligence failures surrounding the attack, but Democrats say a broader investigation into the root causes and role of former President Trump is still need.
This story is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly 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.