A new '9/11 Commission': Demands grow for a full investigation of the Capitol siege

Former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial ended with his acquittal on Saturday, February 13, when seven Republicans joined all 50 Senate Democrats in voting to convict Trump for "incitement to insurrection" — a majority that fell ten votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction in an impeachment trial. But that doesn't mean that that Trump's role in the January 6 insurrection will be forgotten. According to Associated Press reporter Hope Yen, "bipartisan support appears to be growing for an independent September 11-style commission into the deadly insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol."

"Investigations into the riot were already planned, with Senate hearings scheduled later this month in the Senate Rules Committee," Yen explains. "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has asked retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré to lead an immediate review of the Capitol's security process. Lawmakers from both parties, speaking on Sunday's news shows, signaled that even more inquiries were likely.

One of the seven Senate Republicans who voted "guilty" on February 13 was Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is calling for an investigation of the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building.

The conservative Louisiana senator told ABC News: "There should be a complete investigation about what happened — what was known, who knew it and when they knew, all that, because that builds the basis so this never happens again." And Yen quotes Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware as saying, "There's still more evidence that the American people need and deserve to hear, and a 9/11 commission is a way to make sure that we secure the Capitol going forward — and that we lay bare the record of just how responsible and how abjectly violating of his constitutional oath President Trump really was."

Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump sycophant who voted to acquit Trump in both of his impeachment trials, favors a 9/11-style probe of the January 6 insurrection. The South Carolina Republican, who was reelected in 2020 and is usually an aggressive defender of the former president, told right-wing Fox News, "His behavior after the election was over the top. We need a 9/11 commission to find out what happened and make sure it never happens again."

In addition to Cassidy, the Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump for incitement to insurrection on February 13 included Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Sen Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Cassidy has been censured by pro-Trump Republicans in Louisiana for his vote.

Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania has called for a January 6 investigation that is "not guided by politics, but filled with people who would stand up to the courage of their conviction."