Will Marshall, President of the Progressive Policy Institute, released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol:
“One year ago today, a lame duck president incited a mob of followers to storm the Capitol to overturn the 2020 election results. Dozens of police officers were injured in the ensuing violence, which eventually claimed five lives.
“For orchestrating this seditious and deadly attack on our elected representatives, Donald Trump was rightly impeached for a second time. But Congressional Republicans, in violation of their oath to defend the Constitution, failed again to hold Trump accountable for his lawless conduct.
“Their cowardly dereliction of duty opened the door to Trump’s despicable campaign over the past year to undermine public faith in the integrity of U.S. elections and launch what amounts to a coup attempt against our legitimately elected president, Joe Biden. It will fail, but not before eroding confidence at home and abroad in America’s commitment to democracy.
“From Trump, we can expect nothing but self-aggrandizing lies. Looking ahead, the deeper danger comes from the legions of Trump voters who seem willing to swallow his preposterous claims, and the elected Republican ‘leaders’ who lack the courage to stand up to his treacherous fabrications.
“That’s why Americans must never forget what happened on January 6th. The bipartisan House Select Committee’s investigation into the actions of the president and others who organized the insurrection must continue despite Republican stonewalling and disingenuous cries to ‘move on.’
“And what of the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted only moments after the outrage in the Capitol to support Trump’s bogus claims of a stolen election? Let’s make sure U.S. voters won’t forget their names when they go to the polls in this year’s midterm elections.”
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Media Contact for PPI: Aaron White – awhite@ppionline.org