Last Updated on February 15, 2021
Multiple members of Congress and corporate media talking heads are begging for a “9/11-type commission” to obsess over and investigate the January 6 Capitol protest, following the acquittal of former President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial that was roundly mocked for being unconstitutional and was not taken seriously by the general public.
“We need a 9/11 commission to find out what happened and make sure it never happens again, and I want to make sure that the Capitol footprint can be better defended next time,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said during a Fox News appearance on Sunday. Other republicans have followed suit in begging for a commission.
Prominent Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have also promoted the idea, with Pelosi writing, “It is also clear that we will need to establish a 9/11-type commission to examine the facts, causes, and security relating to the terrorist mob attack on January 6” in an email to fellow members of Congress.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) pontificated about his desire to “lay bare the record of just how responsible and how abjectly violating of his constitutional oath Trump really was” during a television appearance over the weekend.
The idea has also received enthusiastic support from the left-wing corporate media, as outlets struggle to stoke public outrage about President Donald Trump now that he is no longer in office.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer tweeted Monday, “The Trump trial is over but local, state & federal investigations continue. There might be a 9/11-type commissioner. News organizations continue to investigate. And@realBobWoodward is working on a book on Trump’s final days in office. Bottom line: we are going to learn a lot more.”
The Trump trial is over but local, state & federal investigations continue. There might be a 9/11-type commission. News organizations continue to investigate. And @realBobWoodward is working on a book on Trump’s final days in office. Bottom line: we are going to learn a lot more.
— Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) February 15, 2021
Journalist Glenn Greenwald satirized the media’s obsession with January 6 protest coverage on Monday, writing “August, 2021: CNN clock counting down the days and hours until the live 9/11-type Commission begins on the Capitol riot, with a huge picture of Trump hovering over the graphic. Gavel-to-gavel live coverage, with 5 minutes reserved every 6 hours to discuss the Biden Admin.”
August, 2021: CNN clock counting down the days and hours until the live 9/11-type Commission begins on the Capitol riot, with a huge picture of Trump hovering over the graphic.
Gavel-to-gavel live coverage, with 5 minutes reserved every 6 hours to discuss the Biden Admin. https://t.co/6TjZ677vrG
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 15, 2021
Public interest in coverage of the January 6 Capitol protest has repeatedly failed to meet the levels hoped for by elected officials and media corporations, particularly after the attempted impeachment of a former President failed spectacularly last week.
