Some members of the Bay Area's congressional delegation are among the lawmakers calling for an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that has absorbed Washington over the past week.
On Wednesday, as the House voted to impeach President Trump a historic second time, more than two dozen representatives, including South Bay Rep. Jackie Speier and North Bay Rep. Jared Huffman, requested a formal inquiry into "suspicious behavior" the day before the attack.
East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of nine impeachment managers tapped to build a case to impeach the president, echoed these concerns during a Thursday interview with KQED’s Brian Watt.
“In the days leading up to it, I've heard from colleagues who saw many of the president's supporters wearing rally shirts, walking through the Capitol,” Swalwell said. “The only way you would be able to be in the Capitol at that point in time was if a member or a staff member allowed you in.”
South Bay Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, in a separate interview with KQED on Thursday, said he did not personally see anything that led him to believe some members of Congress or the Capitol Police might have collaborated with members of the mob leading up to the attack.
But, Khanna added, "There's nothing that can explain how these rioters knew where, for example, [Majority Whip James Clyburn's] office is. I barely know where Whip Clyburn's office is. And these rioters had detailed maps of it."
"There has to be a thorough investigation," Khanna said. "We have to see if any [Capitol Police members] were involved, we have to see if other staff were involved, and we have to see if, unfortunately, certain members of Congress were involved. And if any were involved, that is a criminal matter that should be referred to the Justice Department."
The next few days are expected to be tense. Earlier this week, the FBI signaled the potential for armed protests in all 50 state capitals. In California, major cities and rural areas alike had been preparing for possible unrest regardless of the outcome of this week’s impeachment proceedings.
House Minority Leader and Central Valley Rep. Kevin McCarthy said unity should define the work ahead as President-elect Joe Biden is set to be sworn in next week.
“I understand for some, this call for unity may ring hollow, but times like these are when we must remember who we are as Americans, and as history shows, unity is not an option. It's a necessity,” he said on the House floor Wednesday.
McCarthy, who voted against impeaching the president and objected to the Electoral College results, did speak out against Trump’s role in inciting the Capitol riot.
“The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack,” he said. “[Trump] should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding."
Swalwell said those remarks aren’t genuine.
“I don’t buy it,” he said. “I just don't believe he believes it because he had two months to say that and instead he chose to be a part of the effort to overturn the election.”
Working across the aisle could become more challenging in the days ahead as investigations get underway and ongoing political divides likely widen.
“There's no way I can work with someone who actively participated in aiding the protests with the mobs,” Khanna said.
Swalwell expressed a similar sentiment about those who voted against certifying Biden's election victory.
"I have a lot of friends, people that I've worked with for years, who voted against certifying the Electoral College vote," Swalwell said. "Their vote helped propagate this ... lie that those terrorists could come into the Capitol and change the results. And so I'll just be honest, I don't know how I work with them going forward."
Citing his own remarks during the House vote Wednesday, Khanna said it’s time to look to the future as the U.S. continues to combat the coronavirus.
“It would be a mistake to think that just removing Trump is going to fix some of the deep structural problems in our country,” Khanna said. “And of course, we do have to address grievances. Violence and racism, like some of the mob had, is not the way to do it.”
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