A video of former President Donald Trump at a rally near the White House on Jan. 6th, is shown as committee members from left to right, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., look on, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 6:58 AM PT – Thursday, June 9, 2022
Former President Donald Trump criticized the January 6 Committee as another partisan sham. In a statement Thursday, he said the Democrat-controlled panel is a “unselect committee of political thugs.” Trump stressed, the committee includes the same group of people who were pushing the false Russia collusion hoax and then denied the obvious evidence of fraud in the 2020 elections.
The 45th President made his comments just ahead of the January 6 show trial. Trump also said the Democrat committee knows he was asking for 20,000 National Guard or troops to be deployed at the US Capitol ahead of the protest, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned down the offer.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) echoed the sentiments while suggesting Democrats are playing politics. During a press conference Thursday, the California lawmaker affirmed Republicans have repeatedly denounced the violence at the US Capitol and Democrats are ignoring the crises that are effecting the American people.
The House minority leader was also joined by Congress members Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) who argue the panel is an attack on the GOP and President Trump. They asserted that Democrats refuse to take responsibility for the crises their policies have created and the committee’s focus is not to keep the US Capitol safe.
House Minority Whip Scalise said Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) doesn’t want the truth to come out. He pointed out how she failed to increase security despite receiving intelligence reports.
Pelosi’s Primetime Hearing Lineup:
❌ Soaring Inflation
❌ Record-High Gas Prices
❌ Border Crisis
❌ Supply Chain Nightmares
❌ High Crime Rates
✅ Targeting Political OpponentsAmericans are struggling.
But Dems would rather put on a political show than actually help them.
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) June 9, 2022
As House Republicans continue their own investigations into the committee, Rep. Stefanik claimed the panel will not prevent another January 6 from happening and asserted its sole purpose is to punish political opponents.