WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that lawmakers will set up an external, independent commission to investigate the “facts and causes” of the January 6 fatal attack on US Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump , to review.
Pelosi said in a letter to lawmakers that the commission would be based on a similar one convened after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Pelosi said the panel would also look at the “facts and causes regarding the readiness and response of U.S. Capitol police and other federal, state and local law enforcement.”
She instructed retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Russel Honoré to assess the Capitol’s security needs in the aftermath of the attack. Based on its interim findings, she said Congress should allocate additional funds “to provide for the safety of members and the safety of the Capitol.”
She added: “It is clear from his findings and from the indictment that we need to know how it happened.”
More than a month after the attack that left five dead when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol and sought to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory as president, the Capitol complex is still guarded by more than 5,000 National Guard troops and with eight-foot fences surrounded with razor wire. The troops are expected to remain in mid-March.
Last month, the U.S. police chief at the Capitol called on lawmakers to add permanent fencing and backup security. He noted that the installation of a permanent perimeter fence around the Capitol in 2006 is recommended.
Many lawmakers and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser have urged congressional leaders not to adopt permanent fencing or permanent military security.
More than 200 people have been charged with federal crimes in the bloody assault on Congress, which led to Trump’s indictment on charges of inciting insurgency. Trump was acquitted on Saturday with a 57-43 vote, as seven Republican senators joined the Democrats in favor of conviction, though that is not the required majority.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Edited by Richard Chang and Dan Grebler