Senator Susan Collins is the remarkable woman who can sit on both sides of the fence at the same time. She does a big-time dance, matching step-for-step with the Democrats. Then at the last minute, she pulls out a deep tango double-flip dip while calling out, “Nevermind!”
This Sunday she claimed that she was “strongly” in support of the January 6 Commission. Yet, she has also insisted she can no longer support participating in a positive vote, according to The Maine Public.
Collins appeared on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He asked her why she planned on voting against a bill 35 House Republicans supported:
‘Democrats and Republicans in the Senate also seem to be far apart on this bill to have a bipartisan commission look into the January 6th siege of the Capitol. Thirty-five Republican House members voted for it but it appears that it’s getting — hitting a roadblock in the Senate right now.’
Stephanopoulos continued:
‘You called that attack appalling and un-American, provoked by President Trump. But now you say you’re going to support the commission only under certain conditions, including that it wrap up this year, which appears pretty unrealistic.’
He pondered:
‘Why are you opposed to voting for the commission as passed by the House?’
Collins tried to explain her inexplicable double-sided approach:
‘First of all, let me clarify my position. I strongly support the creation of an independent commission. I believe there are many unanswered questions about the attacks on the Capitol on Jan. 6. We need to figure out how we can enhance security, why we weren’t better prepared.’
Collins continued, noting that she had a list of add-ons that could tank the bill:
‘The two issues that I think are resolvable, one has to do with staffing, and I think that both sides should either jointly appoint the staff or there should be equal numbers of staff appointed by the chairman and the vice-chairman.’
‘The second issue is, I see no reason why the report cannot be completed by the end of this year. The commissioners have to be appointed within ten days. There’s plenty of time to complete the work.’
The senator continued:
‘So I support the creation of a non-partisan, bipartisan commission. I’m optimistic that we can get past these issues based on recent conversations I’ve had with the Speaker of the House and the House majority leader.’
Then, the host asked the senator about the FBI investigating her:
‘Finally, Senator Collins, “Axios” reported this week that the FBI is investigating a scheme to illegally finance your 2020 re-election bid. It involves $150,000 in contributions from a defense contractor. Were you aware of those contributions and what’s your reaction to the investigation?’
Collins denied any culpability:
‘Absolutely not. I was not aware at all. But it’s also important to recognize, this is not an investigation of me. It’s not an investigation of Collins for Senator Campaign. It’s an investigation of a single donor among the hundred thousand donors that I have. And I — if he has done something wrong, as the warrant alleges, then he should be pursued by the FBI.’
Watch the video below from ABC.
