“Trump’s Effort To Overturn The Election Should Be Investigated Like 9/11”

John Harris in Politico:

No previous transition has raised similar doubts about whether the executive branch, including the military, is being run with a clear and lawful chain of command, with a psychologically competent individual at the top.

It is imperative that a multitude of urgent questions be answered in a comprehensive way, by an independent body with subpoena power to review documentary evidence and compel testimony under oath. The crisis Trump initiated needs to be examined with the equivalent of the 9/11 Commission established after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

At first blush, the comparison may seem overwrought. Obviously, nothing that has happened in the past ten weeks — including the grotesque and deadly mob takeover ofthe Capitol during the official certification of Biden’s victory — is of the same horrific, history-altering magnitude of 9/11.

The similarity flows from the way that both events demand public understanding and accountability. Both events represented attacks on the basic functioning of U.S. institutions. Both revealed vulnerabilities in our customs and procedures that many people did not sufficiently appreciate until disaster struck.

Here’s what we know for sure: There was an assault on rule of law at the U.S. Capitol led by people who were inspired by Trump and believed they were acting as he would wish them to do. If events had unfolded even slightly differently, the five fatalities could have been many times greater, and included many members of the House and Senate.

Share this: