Not Above the Law Coalition: Senate’s Jan. 6 Oversight Report Underscores Urgent Need for Full Investigation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, members of the bipartisan Not Above the Law coalition released the following joint statement following the release last week of the Senate’s joint oversight report on the security failings related to the January 6 attack:
“Last week, the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee released a joint oversight report on the security failings related to the January 6th attack of the U.S. Capitol Complex.
“January 6 violently disrupted our country’s sacred transfer of power and threatened the lives of executive and congressional officials. The insurrection marked one of the worst days of injuries for law enforcement officers in the United States since September 11, 2001. The Senate report, which identifies key security and intelligence shortcomings, represents an important milestone toward understanding how the attack so nearly succeeded. We applaud this bipartisan work.
“That said, the report had clear limits in its scope and did not receive the full cooperation of the executive branch. It must not be the last step toward securing our democratic institutions against future attacks. As former senior national security officials have explained, the January 6 attack was made possible not only by the ‘immediate security failings’ examined by this report, but also by other complex causes, including coordinated disinformation campaigns, non-transparent financing of extremist groups, and possible foreign influences. These causes must be investigated. The apparent decisions by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and the House Sergeant-at-Arms not to fully cooperate with the committees’ investigation, and the committees’ decision not to explore the former President’s actions, are all the more reason for additional investigation. Leaving these issues unexamined will leave the country dangerously vulnerable to future attacks.
“It is incumbent on Congress to carry forward the Senate’s work and investigate the causes of the January 6 attacks. We commend this progress to understand and address the January 6 attack and urge Congress to ensure it continues.”
Coalition members supporting this statement include: American Oversight, Center for American Progress, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Constitutional Accountability Center, DemCast USA, The Digital Democracy Project, Government Accountability Project, Indivisible, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, MoveOn Civic Action, People For the American Way, Project On Government Oversight, Protect Democracy, Public Citizen, Stand Up America, Revolving Door Project.