Pelosi hints new panel to probe Capitol riot

However Pelosi later denied that, telling reporters, “No, I did not make that announcement.”…reports Asian Lite News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly planning to create a new committee to probe the January 6 Capitol storming, according to media reports.

This is pushing closer to a partisan investigation of the violence after Senate Republicans blocked the from forming an independent commission to probe the incident.

According to reports, quoting a person familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity said that Pelosi had told her colleagues that she would create a select panel.

However Pelosi later denied that, telling reporters, “No, I did not make that announcement.”

The new committee would come after the Senate voted earlier this month to block legislation to form a bipartisan, independent commission investigating the attack by former President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Meanwhile, more than 70 Capitol police officers have quit after the events of January 6, the Politico had reported earlier, citing the police union.

According to the Capitol Police union chair Gus Papathanasiou, officers are “demoralized” and “looking for a way out” as they face longer working hours for an indefinite period of time and deal with the trauma caused by the recent attacks, the news outlet stated.

“What keeps me awake at night is not the challenge of hiring and training more police officers, but keeping the officers we have right now. We have many officers on the fence about whether to stay with this department,” Papathanasiou was cited as saying by the Politico.

Last month, the US lawmakers passed a $1.9 billion emergency funding bill aimed to enhance the security of the Capitol. It provides for overtime pay, hazard pay and retention bonuses, in addition to more equipment and better training for the police officers. However, this measure may not be enough to solve the issue amid the surge in violence, the union chair was quoted as saying by the Politico.

In early April, an unknown person approached the territory of the Capitol by car, shot down two police officers and then crashed into a fence. After that, he got out of the car and, allegedly, rushed at the police brandishing a knife. In response, the officers opened fire. The attacker and one of the wounded police officers died in the hospital.

ALSO READ: Over 70 cops quit since Capitol storming in Jan