Capitol Police officer Aquilino Gonell was working on January 6. His face was pained with betrayal during an MSBC’s Deadline White House with Nicole Wallace interview. The very people he risked his life to protect have betrayed him and the other Capitol Police. The officers knew that Donald Trump sat watching what was happening to them on television. Yet, the ex-president did nothing for three hours. Gonell called himself “a sacrifice.”
His hurt was all over the interview:
‘Three hours. How come it took so long? I was a sacrifice. I feel betrayal. Maybe they (Republican legislators) were complicit. Maybe if they pretend, it will go away. If we had not done what we did, a lot of people would have died. I know because they told us. January 6 was one day. But for us it is nonstop. We still have to get phonecalls from the Department of Justice, the FBI. “Can you identify this person?”‘
Republicans had negotiated in good faith to create an independent bipartisan commission last month. Then, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) blocked the legislation to establish the commission. Only 35 House Republicans and seven Republican senators supported it, according to CNN.
Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted 222-190 to approve Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) bipartisan select committee. Only two Republicans voted for it, Repsenatives Liz Cheney (WY) and Adam Kinzinger (IL). The rest of them voted nay.
Officer Gonell explained to Wallace “It’s like we’re living in another country:”
‘I just came from physical therapy, and it has been six months. They want to move on from this day, some already have. For us, the people who suffer, it’s a betrayal of their oath of office. It’s like we are living in another country, not America. I hold this country dearly.’
Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited several individuals to speak on the House floor. The insurrectionists viciously attacked two Metropolitan Police officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges and Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn. They have been urging Congress to investigate the day’s riot. Fallen Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s partner, Sandra, and his mother, Gladys, also spoke.
Pelosi said:
‘We have a duty to the Constitution and to the American people to find the truth of Jan. 6, and to ensure that such an assault on our democracy can never happen again.’
The commission proposal would have given Republicans an equal number of members, the ability to subpoena, and completion by year’s end. Now, the investigation could extend well into the midterm election season.
With a select committee, Democrats will have eight on the panel chosen by the Speaker and five selected by the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) with Pelosi’s veto power. This will be set up much like the Benghazi select committee investigating Secretary Hillary Clinton was designed.
Only a few Republicans participated in the House floor debate. One was Representative Brad Wenstrup (R-OH):
‘This has been created as a partisan issue at a time when it should not be partisan. And if you’re not partisan, then you include all the things that threaten us, that threaten this body, that threaten this building, and that threaten the people that work in it. Let’s be serious. If you’re serious, be inclusive, be complete and do the right thing.’
Kinzinger told a Fox affiliate before the vote:
‘It’s not my favorite option. But the point is, we can’t keep pretending like Jan. 6 didn’t happen. We need full accounting for it.’
Wallace’s interview continued. The office said:
‘They were Trump supporters. Not Black Lives Matter. None of them (members of Congress) were injured. Sadly we made the ultimate sacrifice. Instead, it’s obstruction to investigate, desecration of our sacrifice.’
Cheney released a statement:
‘[I]t is right to be wary of an overtly partisan inquiry, [but the select committee is] our only remaining option.’
‘Since January 6th, the courage of my party’s leaders has faded. But the threat to our Republic has not. On an almost daily basis, Donald Trump repeats the same statements that provoked violence before.’
Gonell ended:
‘They continued to overwhelm. We had to defend the whole complex. We were the sacrifice.’
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