Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., Who crossed the lines of the party and voted alongside six other Republicans to condemn former President Donald Trump, said Sunday morning on ABC News’ “This Week” that supports an investigation complete of the January 6 events, as other lawmakers who appeared on the program asked for a 9/11-style commission to investigate the attack on the Capitol.
“I think there should be a thorough investigation into what happened on January 6th. Why there were no more policemen, the National Guard has already mobilized, what was known, who knew, and when they knew, all this, because it builds the basis for it never to happen again in the future, “said Cassidy, who said he believed that Trump’s actions fit the definition of an insurrection, to ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“I listened very carefully to all the arguments. But if you describe the insurrection as I did, in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, we can see the president for two months after the election, promoting that the election has been stolen.” Cassidy added. “It was clear that he wanted legislators to be intimidated. And even after learning that there was violence going on, he basically continued to sanction the presence of the crowd and only later asked him to leave. All of this points to a reason and a method. And this is wrong, he must be held responsible. “
In interviews after Cassidy, the House’s impeachment manager, Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., And Senator Chris Coons, D-Del., Told Stephanopoulos that they would support the creation of an independent 9/11 style committee for investigate the attack on the capital.
“Think about it,” said Dean to Stephanopoulos. “For the first time in many years, we had an insurrection incited by the President of the United States. … The House was desecrated, the Capitol was desecrated. People were terrified. This was instigated by the President of the United States. Of course, there must be a full commission and an impartial commission, not guided by politics, but full of people who would face the courage of their conviction, like Dr. Cassidy ”.
Cassidy signaled earlier this week that he could vote to condemn the former president by changing his position on the constitutionality of the trial in a vote on Tuesday, joining only a handful of Republicans who also voted that they should proceed. The Republican Party of Louisiana voted to censor Cassidy just hours after he voted to condemn Trump, but Cassidy defended his position before voters in Louisiana, telling Stephanopoulos that he vowed to defend the constitution.
“People want to trust. They want to trust their leaders, they want people to be held accountable. Now, we are holding people accountable – I am trying to hold President Trump accountable – and that is the confidence I get from the people who elected me and I am very confident that , over time, people will move to that position. “
Stephanopoulos pressured Cassidy about Trump’s future within the Republican Party.
“Do you think he can run a credible campaign for president again? Will he remain a force in the Republican Party? What does that mean for the Republican Party?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“I think his strength is waning, the Republican Party is more than just a person. The Republican Party is about ideas,” said Cassidy.
Dean, one of the impeachment managers, told Stephanopoulos that she gives credit to the Republicans who voted to condemn the former president.
“I give credit to the seven Republicans who were with us, who followed the facts, who examined the law and the evidence and found this president guilty of serious crimes and misdemeanors,” she told Stephanopoulos. “It was powerful to hear the 57 culprits. And then it was intriguing to hear and see Mitch McConnell get up and say ‘innocent’, and then, minutes later, get up again and say he was guilty of everything. History will remember this statement of speaking from both sides of the mouth. “
Stephanopoulos challenged Dean about why the House’s impeachment administrators abandoned their plan to call witnesses after securing enough votes to consider him during a vote on Saturday morning. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top impeachment manager, said the prosecutor wanted to summon Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler about a conversation she said she had with House minority leader Kevin McCarthy about Trump allegedly refusing to. detain the protesters.
“Some Democrats say you gave in,” said Stephanopoulos.
But Dean and Coons said in their respective interviews that they do not believe that calling witnesses to testify would have changed the outcome of the vote.
“We didn’t need any more witnesses. We were in a room full of witnesses and victims, we didn’t need any more witnesses. But what we managed to guarantee was a stipulation by the former president’s lawyers that what she had said was true. yet another witness to the high rate of crimes and uprisings incited by a president, “said Dean.
Stephanopoulos also challenged Coons at this point, asking if he thought it would make a difference.
“So you don’t believe that a full trial, more witnesses, more documents giving us a sense of what’s going on in the White House, would have served the cause of justice and accountability better?” Stephanopoulos pressed.
Coons said he was impressed by the 57 votes the Democrats managed to get, the most bipartisan impeachment in the country’s history and a number he didn’t think they would reach.
“They could have 500 more witnesses, that would not change the outcome. Since Mitch McConnell made it clear that he intended to acquit even despite the convincing evidence, what the House administrators needed was not more witnesses or more evidence, which we all we needed more republican courage, “said Coons. “I, frankly, at that time did not think that spending months fighting over additional witnesses would have changed the outcome of this trial.”
The Delaware senator was also confident that there would be the 17 Republican votes needed to convict the former president if he had voted in secret.
“I’m pretty sure there would be a vote to condemn with a secret vote,” said Coons. “Honestly, I think the majority of Republicans hung their hat on a constitutional argument not very convincing and we need to find a way to hand that responsibility over. Ultimately, it is in the hands of the American people. But I do think that the Republican Party is deeply divided now, and I am grateful for the seven Republican senators and 10 Republican House members who defended the Constitution and faced President Trump. “
When pressed by Stephanopoulos, Cassidy and Dean did not say whether they believe there are grounds for further prosecutions against Trump.
But Coons said he believes so, although that is not his top priority now.
“I think there are grounds for new civil and criminal prosecutions against former President Trump,” said Coons. “But George, I am also focused on moving forward with delivering the urgent relief from the pandemic, revitalizing and strengthening our economy that President Biden has been focusing on since he became president. … I think this phase of accountability goes to the courts now, and we, in Congress, need to move forward with the delivery of expanded unemployment checks, the stimulus prevents reinvestment in our economy that the American people, so desperately need and deserve. “
Stephanopoulos pressured Coons about how biden was the beginning of Biden’s time in the White House, as Democrats are laying the groundwork to proceed with a simple majority vote to potentially approve coronavirus relief.
“George, let’s be clear, President Biden met and talked with a bipartisan group of senators, there are 10 Republican senators who are still negotiating with the White House, with a group of Democrats, about trying to find a bipartisan way for an appropriately bold and a broad help package, “said Coons.
“But we, in the House and in the Senate, the Democrats, provide a way so that, if in a month, as unemployment checks are about to stop for 10 million Americans, we can proceed with an exclusive bill for Democrats, “he continued. “President Biden is uniting the American people. He is moving forward with aid that is supported by three quarters of the American people. And from the way he spoke in his possession to the actions he took in the first few weeks, he is showing us how true presidential leadership looks in stark contrast to his predecessor. He ran for unity and I believe he’s delivering unity to the American people. “