Fact Checking Claims About the January 6 Committee’s Partisanship
The committee is not a ‘one party operation.’
Tom Fitton, president of the conservative organization Judicial Watch and supporter of Donald Trump, claimed in a widely-shared tweet that the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack is a “one party operation” and has “no minority party representatives.”
This is a false claim.
There are seven Democrats and two Republicans, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, serving on the committee.
Here’s some context on the original claim.
In June 2021, Congress passed a resolution to create the select committee, giving Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi the authority to appoint eight members and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy the authority to appoint five members.
In July 2021, Pelosi rejected two of McCarthy’s five choices for the committee, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, and McCarthy stopped participating in the selection process. In a statement, Pelosi explained her decision:
“Monday evening, the Minority Leader recommended 5 Members to serve on the Select Committee. I have spoken with him this morning about the objections raised about Representatives Jim Banks and Jim Jordan and the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation. I also informed him that I was prepared to appoint Representatives Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong and Troy Nehls, and requested that he recommend two other Members.”
Pelosi added: “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”
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So, even with the added context, I think fact checking this claim is missing the point. Most Republicans complaining about the commission being a partisan Pelosi production, are perfectly aware that Cheney and Kinzinger are on the committee. They just see them as RINOs who are dupes blinded by TDS at best, traitors at worst. Indeed, I suspect even Fitton would readily acknowledge the presence of Cheney and Kinzinger, but claim they aren't functioning as "minority party representatives" because "they were handpicked by Pelosi" or whatever.
Using the term “one party” maybe technically inaccurate. But I think it’s fair to call the committee partisan.