The gallows set up by supporters of Donald Trump outside the US Capitol, January 6, 2021 ((Shay Horse/NurPhoto/Getty)

In a show of loyalty to Donald Trump, Senate Republicans block an independent commission to investigate the attack on the US Capitol on January 6.

The Republicans used the filibuster to prevent any final vote authorizing the commission. An attempt to end the filibuster, requiring 60 votes, only gained a 54-35 majority.

Of the Republicans who voted, only 6 supported the measure: Bill Cassidy of Lousiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah, and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. A seventh Republican, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, said he would have voted Yes.

All Democrats, except two were not present, voted Yes.

The Republican rejection followed a command by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to kill the bill, despite his post-attack criticism that the Capitol invaders were ” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>”provoked” by “lies” and his statement that courts could pursue criminal charges.

McConnell said on the Senate floor that he would oppose the “slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission”. He reportedly urged fellow Republicans to vote No as a “personal favor to him”.

From his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump has continued to lie about the “stolen election”.

See also World Unfiltered: Is America Broken?

Sen. Murkowski urged Republican colleagues to defy the whip against the investigation:

I don’t want to know, but I need to know. To be making a decision for short-term political gain, at the expense of understanding and acknowledging what was in front of us on January 6 — I think we need to look at that critically.

“Shame for Sweeping Horrors Away”

Schumer asked other questions after the vote:

Do my Republican colleagues remember that day? Do my Republican colleagues remember the savage mob calling for the execution of [Vice President] Mike Pence, the makeshift gallows outside the Capitol?

Shame on the Republican Party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because they are afraid of Donald Trump.

As McConnell said he did not believe a commission “would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing”, Trump celebrated with more disinformation:

Massive numbers of dead people “voted” in the 2020 Presidential Election, far greater than anyone has known or seen before. Some of these “dead people” even applied for an application to vote. This is just one of the many fraudulent aspects of the 2020 Presidential Election.

People are just now beginning to understand!

Schumer and Pelosi are now planning Congressional committee investigations.

“Why Would They Not Want to Investigate?”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts summarized, “If the Republicans can’t agree to an independent commission investigating the first armed insurrection at the Capitol in our nation’s history, then something is bad wrong.And that something is the filibuster.”

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — who still opposes removal of the filibuster, told reporters, “I’m very, very disappointed, very frustrated that politics has trumped — literally and figuratively — the good of the country.”

The mother and partner of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack, lamented the Republican burial of the investigation.

“I couldn’t stay quiet anymore,” said Gladys Sicknick.

“It’s very disturbing that anyone would not want to support this,” said Sandra Garza, Sicknick’s
partner. “Why would they not want to get to the bottom of such horrific violence?”