January 6 Commission

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week, something happened here in the Capitol which was unique. I am not sure it has ever happened before. It was reported that an anonymous group of Capitol Police officers published an open letter to Members of Congress.

I have been here a few years. I never heard of anything quite like this. Here is what these Capitol Police officers, who are entrusted with the responsibility of keeping us safe in the Capitol, wrote: ``On Jan 6th where some officers served their last day in US Capitol Police uniform, and not by choice, we would hope that Members whom we took an oath to protect, would at the very minimum support an investigation to get to the bottom of EVERYONE responsible and hold them 100 percent accountable no matter the title of position they hold or held.''

A challenge from the Capitol Police to the Members of Congress not to sweep under the carpet January 6 but to get to the bottom of it. Capitol policemen were attacked and died as a result of that insurrectionist mob on January 6, and these officers, who risk their lives every day for us, are begging us not to ignore what happened.

Yesterday, in POLITICO, the mother of fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick wrote: ``Not having a January 6 Commission to look into exactly what occurred is a slap in the faces of all the officers who did their jobs that day.''

I met Gladys Sicknick when the memorial to her son was held in the Rotunda. I talked to her and her husband about their son, how they were worried when he decided to become a policeman, but they thought at least if he worked in the U.S. Capitol, it is a pretty safe assignment. Well, he died the day after January 6, many believe from complications which occurred in the attacks of that day.

To Gladys Sicknick, to the Sicknick family, to all of our Capitol Police officers to whom we entrust our lives every day, and to the members of the DC Metro Police and the other heroes who defended the Capitol on January 6, I say: We hear you, and you deserve justice.

It is hard to believe that before we adjourn today, we are likely to consider a January 6 Commission proposal that is doomed to fail. Imagine, the worst attack on this building since the War of 1812, and sadly, it has become a partisan issue. It is my understanding because of his public announcement that Senator McConnell is going to oppose it, and I understand that his caucus will follow his lead.

It is hard to imagine what is going on in the U.S. Congress these days.

Earlier this week, a Member of the House of Representatives--I am afraid she is already notorious for her inflammatory rhetoric--likened coronavirus masking guidelines to the Holocaust--the Holocaust. I feel no need to point out the absurdity, if not the anti-Semitic nature of such a comparison, but I do want to point out that that comparison was made by one of the lawmakers who were party to the January 6 insurrection attack on the Capitol.

The day before the insurrection, that same Congresswoman, a Republican Congresswoman, tweeted: ``Tomorrow is an important day in American history. The people will remember the Patriots who stood for election integrity. Let's go #FightForTrump!''

And fight they did.

I remember being in the Chamber that day. I still remember the sound of rioters banging on the doors and windows of this building, the sight of hundreds of them lined up outside, the disgusting display of Confederate flags. And the violence we saw that left 5 people dead and 139 law enforcement officers attacked.

So many shocking sights on January 6, 2021--a gallows was erected on the Capitol lawn and rioters attacking police officers with flagpoles bearing American flags or Trump flags.

One of the most painful images--and I am sure it was more painful to some than even to me--is a photo of a middle-age White man standing in the halls of our Capitol wearing a sweatshirt that read ``Camp Auschwitz.'' Below those repugnant words was another set of words: ``Work makes you free.'' That cruel slogan was emblazoned atop the black iron gates in Germany leading into the Auschwitz concentration camp. And one of the rioters--mobsters--on January 6 in the U.S. Capitol boldly wore that shirt.

These are the people who stormed the Capitol on January 6. They weren't Patriots by any measure. Included in their ranks were neo- Nazis, White supremacists, and clear enemies of the United States. They were incited by the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, at a rally earlier that day, and his allies in Congress, like that Congresswoman I mentioned earlier, were party to the incitement as well.

I agree with those who have said that an insurrection without consequences--without even an examination--is a dress rehearsal for the next insurrection. That is why we cannot sweep January 6 and the events that led to it under the rug.

Incendiary rhetoric, especially from the mouths or the keyboards of elected officials, has a cost.

Comparing mask requirements in a pandemic to the Holocaust has a cost as well. It belittles the worst genocide in the history of the world. And it encourages the kinds of anti-Semitic attacks we have seen in recent days and weeks, like the vandalism in my home State at the synagogue in Skokie, IL.

Baselessly claiming that the Presidential election of last year was stolen and repeating that lie has a cost. It undermines the faith in our government and legitimizes a radical, anti-government movement that aims to overthrow this government.

It is time for us to tally up the costs, understand how the January 6 attack on our democracy happened and who incited it, and that investigation should not be a matter of controversy. It is part of our obligation, is it not? By our oath of office to defend this Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic? Future generations are counting on us to record in detail what did happen on January 6. And we ought to do it on a bipartisan basis.

But why is it necessary? With all of the videotapes and all of the photos and all of the statements of 400-plus people already arrested, why do we need to keep asking questions about that day? Because just 2 weeks ago, two different Republican Congressmen proclaimed that those who were in the Capitol that day were somehow peaceful patriots. That was the phrase that was used--peaceful patriots. Another one talked about them and believed the videotapes proved they were just orderly tourists--orderly tourists. Attacking police officers; five people died; crashing through the windows and doors; breaking down offices; desecrating this Chamber with their antics captured on videotape, and we have all seen them. Orderly tourists? Not by any measure.

We ought to investigate this on a bipartisan basis. Several Republican Senators have agreed. Thirty-five Members of the House Republican caucus thought so as well. Surely, all of us can appreciate the importance of working together to investigate why, for the first time in history, America was challenged when we were in the process of the peaceful transfer of power.

Here is the thing that I don't understand. Several of us in leadership were asked to leave the Capitol complex and go to a separate place. The identity of that location is kept confidential and private. But it was an interesting gathering of Democratic and Republican leaders in the wake of the January 6 insurrection which was underway as we were taken to the separate location.

And I looked around at the Democratic as well as the Republican leaders from the Senate and the House who were gathered, and it was clear to me--they say they felt the same feelings of anger and outrage that this mob had desecrated this building. And they were determined-- we were all determined--that the mob would not have the last word. We were determined to return to this Capitol that same day and finish our work counting the electoral college votes that declared Joe Biden President of the United States.

Calls were being made in every direction to police, to the military, to political leaders: Resecure this Capitol. Make certain that you remove those people who were responsible for the violence and insurrection we have seen. Let us get back to our work. Let us prove to the American people that the mob didn't have the last word.

I saw that bipartisan determination, and I felt damn good about it. Of all the differences we have had, of all the debate we have had, January 6, that afternoon, Democratic and Republican leaders were standing shoulder to shoulder, passing cellphones back and forth, and speaking to our leaders, talking about getting back into this Capitol and throwing that mob out. And it happened.

By 8 o'clock that evening, we were back on the floor of the U.S. Senate. By 2:30, we were gone, racing through the exit doors. At 8 o'clock, we were back to prove that they didn't have the last word. But, sadly, we know now they may have the last word because the call for a bipartisan commission to investigate this January 6 event and to put on the record exactly what happened is being opposed on a partisan basis.

There ought to be 100 Senate votes for investigating this attack and making a clear record for history so that those who mock the danger of the moment by calling this mob a peaceful, patriotic mob, or calling the members orderly tourists don't have the last word; yet we may not even have 60 votes today when the measure is called. Why? Let's get down to basics here.

Many of the Republican Members are afraid of the man who incited this mob. They are afraid of the former President and what he will say of them if we call for an investigation. They are afraid of Donald Trump. As a result, they are refusing to let this Commission move forward. Are they worried that this investigation into what happened on January 6 will hurt Republicans in next year's election? I think the position they are taking opposing an investigation will hurt them.

The events of that date are not fodder for political campaigns, really. They are a stain on our history. If we ignore them or allow the history of that day to be rewritten by deniers, shame on them.

The events of January 6 deserve and demand careful, thorough, and principled examination. That is why the independent Commission we are proposing is modeled after the same investigatory body that was created after 9/11. It will be led by 10 commissioners, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Together, they would be called on to produce a definitive account of what happened and led to January 6, 2021. This is not an opportunity to score political points; it is an opportunity to score national unity and reconciliation.

When Senator McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, announced his opposition to this Commission last week, he said: ``It's not at all clear what new facts or additional investigation yet another commission can lay on top of the existing efforts by law enforcement and Congress.''

My response to Senator McConnell is this, respectfully: The public servants who lead this Commission will be charged with a different set of responsibilities than law enforcement and Members of Congress. The investigations being led by intelligence officials and members of law enforcement are criminal investigations. They will determine how the individuals who participated in the insurrection should be held legally accountable. And the ongoing investigation in Congress have largely been focused on our government's response to the violence of January 6, not to what provoked it.

The Commission we are considering today is different. It will be comprehensive by design, evenly divided on a partisan basis. It will examine all of the factors that inspired that riotous mob. And this Commission isn't just about uncovering truth. It goes back to the point I made opening this statement. This Commission is designed to honor the police officers who defended us and defended this Capitol on January 6, some of whom gave their lives in the process.

That letter from the police officers to us is a reminder that we owe them the same loyalty and the same dedication they give to us every single day. Dismissing this January 6 Commission and the gravity of this responsibility, sadly, does not honor the police officers who are prepared to give their lives for us every single day.

Here is a chance for my Republican colleagues to prove that they really care about law enforcement. So many speeches on the floor of the Senate in the last several weeks have derided and criticized people for calling on defunding the police. Well, I would tell them that the failure to create a Commission to objectively determine what happened when so many of our police officers were attacked on January 6, that doesn't defund the police; failing to create that Commission, sadly, defames them. And that is unacceptable by any standard.

Isn't it time we stand with the police officers and their request for this Commission? Isn't it time we make sure that heroes like Brian Sicknick and his family know that he did not die in vain? He paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect us. Let's honor it by supporting the creation of an independent Commission. His family, and all of America, deserve nothing less than the truth

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