The Many Reasons Why Republicans Should Kill the Jan 6 Investigation Committee by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill calling for the creation of a bipartisan, independent investigatory committee to evaluate the events of January 6. The bill still needs to get through the Senate to become law. Democrats, who have admittedly compromised down from the original bill's proposal, call the bill "fair and necessary." In reality, the commission, regardless of its outcome, is a Democratic political stunt and ought to be stopped by Republicans in the Senate. Congress is a joke. It can't tell its head from its backside even if equipped with the latest GPS locating technology. It is a dysfunctional body overwhelmed to the point of paralysis by its partisanship and tribal allegiances. To think that Congress is capable of "finding the truth," as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims is the prospective committee's objective, displays either a shameless level of disingenuousness or a pathologic delusion about the legislative body she claims to lead. Additionally, "getting to the truth" is not Congress's role. Except in one glaring situation, Congress never serves as a tribunal. It is the country's legislative branch, not its judiciary. Therefore, the purpose for a congressional investigation is always in support of legislation designed to address an issue affecting the nation. Congress's investigatory powers specifically do not exist for the purpose of either searching for truth" or " holding someone accountable." A congressional investigation is a means towards a legislative or regulatory end, and never as an end to itself. Here, there is no legislative purpose for the proposed investigation. Not a single supporter of the January 6 investigatory committee has suggested any potentially legislative solution to the events that took place on that day. There were many laws broken when a group of thugs penetrated the Capitol to achieve whatever ill-conceived goal they aimed to accomplish. There is no new law that could prevent the event from taking place, and there is no statute providing the federal government with powers it lacked to appropriately address the situation. The inadequacy of the response to the assault on the nation's Capitol was not statutory; it was one centered on poor leadership and personnel incompetence, beginning with the person responsible for overseeing the Capitol Police, Speaker Pelosi herself. This brings us to the one time when Congress's investigatory powers serve a judicial purpose and the most glaring reason for opposed to the January 6 investigatory committee. The only time Congress is called to an investigatory position is when it is conducting an impeachment proceeding. In fact, Congress actually did this in late 2020 and into 2021 when it impeached President Donald J. Trump due to his alleged role in the January 6 melee. This was the time and the proceeding through which Congress was to "seek the truth" and "hold someone to account." It refused to do so. Instead, the House of Representatives, led by the same party that holds it now, decided to forego all hearings, all inquiries, and any semblance of investigation so as to send its poorly supported, single-article-impeachment to the Senate. In so doing, the House conceded its opportunity to conduct an investigation that would not only afford the President of the United States his due process rights, but it would also allow for a better understanding of exactly what transpired that day and during its run-up. Now, Congress wants a second bite at the apple it had previously hastily discarded' only this time it wants a second look without a legislative and constructive purpose. Although the Democrats (and some Republicans) don't recognize them, there are reasons why our nation's governmental departments are hindered by checks, balances and separations of power. In short, it is to control the overly zealous and unconstrained application of power. What the Democrats seek here is the salacious use of its investigatory powers for the pure partisan purposes of forwarding the political agenda of the majority while frivolously harassing the minority. This type of behavior is reminiscent of those displayed by King George III, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Nikita Khrushchev, among countless others, and distinctly antithetical to our American political structure. In terms of searching for the truth, the fact is that there are already extensive criminal probes investigating this issue and as these culminate in trials, they will reveal "the truth" and hold the criminal who coordinated this event. In short the pursuit of a congressional committee to investigate the events of January 6 is a mere, prurient political stunt designed to hurt, maim and destroy. It specifically will not serve to develop any productive insights on an issue affecting the whole nation. Republicans ought therefore to oppose such an open display of purposeless political harassment at all cost and hold the Democrats to account for pursuing it. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com.
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