The day before the House vote, McCarthy surprised his caucus by citing the proposed panel’s "political misdirection,” "counterproductive nature,” and its supposed failure to examine "interrelated forms of political violence," for his abrupt 11th hour rejection. In other words, McCarthy is trying to save his neck, and Trump’s, by attempted murder of the 1/6 Commission.
It’s attempted because McCarthy might not succeed. The whitewash of Jan. 6 that Liz Cheney warned of could be foiled by Democrats if their slim majority holds or they’re joined by those nine Republicans who voted against McCarthy in favor of resuming the electoral college count after the riot. That number includes Cheney, who no longer has a title but does have a vote.
The compromise that Republican Representative Katko called “a solid, fair agreement that is a dramatic improvement over previous proposals" provided for a 50-50 split of the parties on the panel, no subpoenas unless both sides agreed, and a strict deadline of Dec. 31. Of working with his Democratic counterpart, Katko said, “We both dispensed with our politics to do what the greater good is.” At first, McCarthy was going to let his caucus vote their consciences but by afternoon he ordered another of his allies, Steve Scalise, to ignore Katko and tell the caucus to vote with their leader.
It’s been quite a week. McCarthy, who likes to be liked, turned his back on two friends, Cheney first and then Katko. Scalise may want to have someone watch his back. Katko’s first mistake was to go for “fair” when McCarthy has a white can of paint under his desk that says “cover-up.”
McCarthy voting no is all the more peculiar in that Katko accomplished all McCarthy asked of him, with one small exception. The GOP argued for expanding the investigation beyond the fatal insurrection in Washington to delve into an examination of every protest everywhere. Instead Democrats offered up a separate commission to look at the demonstrations after George Floyd's murder that presumably McCarthy agreed to. Trump could
even have gung-ho pal Matt Gaetz officiate if he likes.
Katko was used: There could never be a commission that meets McCarthy’s desire to pretend Jan 6 is behind us and it’s time to move along—especially after Cheney said on Sunday that he should have to testify about what Trump told him that day or presumably be subpoenaed as part of a wide-open investigation.
www.nbcnews.com
