The Jan. 6 Committee Should Finish Its Job — Quickly
Congressional investigators have made meaningful progress, but they need to pick up the pace.
Time to clear the air.
Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg
In the year since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the government has responded better than might’ve been expected. Law-enforcement agencies have arrested and charged at least 700 people in 47 states. Congressional investigators have interviewed hundreds of witnesses. Federal courts have resisted efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to deny Congress access to documents and testimony. Despite fears that extremists might be inspired to commit more acts of violence, there have been no repeat performances.
Such progress demonstrates the resilience of America’s democratic institutions. It also underscores the need for the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 to quickly complete its inquiry and resist pressure to expand its scope. An open-ended probe that attempts to bring criminal charges against Trump and his inner circle would only undermine confidence in the committee’s findings and embolden the same forces that staged the insurrection in the first place.