Tenney slams Pelosi decision to reject two Republican congress members from House Jan. 6 probe panel

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Claudia L. Tenney, R-22, New Hartford, has issued a statement criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s denial of two of five proposed Republican members of Congress from serving on the House Select Committee on January 6.

Pelosi rejected the two Republicans tapped by House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to sit on the committee — Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, picked by McCarthy to be the top Republican on the panel, or Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. The two men are outspoken allies of former President Donald Trump, whose supporters laid siege to the Capitol that day and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s win. Both of them voted to overturn the election results in the hours after the siege, citing unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud. McCarthy denounced the decision as “an egregious abuse of power” and said the GOP won’t participate in the investigation if Democrats won’t accept the members he appointed and instead conduct its own investigation.

Pelosi cited the “integrity” of the probe in refusing Wednesday to accept the appointments. Democrats have said the investigation will go on whether the Republicans participate or not, as Pelosi has already appointed eight of the 13 members — including Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming — and that gives them a bipartisan quorum to proceed, according to committee rules.

Said Tenney: “This is the first time in our nation’s history that a Speaker of the House has blocked members of the minority party from serving on a select committee. It is unprecedented but not surprising. Speaker Pelosi’s priority from the start has been to preserve her power and further divide the American people. While the Senate has produced bipartisan assessments of the events on January 6, Speaker Pelosi and Democratic leaders in the House have done nothing but play politics. Speaker Pelosi’s decision today proves once again that she has no intention of overseeing a process that is fair or fact-based.”

Many Republicans, including Trump, have dismissed the events at the Capitol, saying that they were not as violent as portrayed in the media.

“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement. Per committee rules, Pelosi has the authority to approve or reject members, though she acknowledged her move was unusual.

She said “the unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”

Tenney, who is a co-chair of the Republican House Election Integrity Caucus, held a roundtable discussion Wednesday with other congress members to discuss ongoing efforts at the state level to strengthen election integrity. During the meeting, Tenney said members heard from state legislators around the country on measures they are advancing in their states to strengthen election oversight, transparency, and accountability, according to a release.

“Yesterday’s election integrity roundtable was yet another productive discussion with members of the Election Integrity Caucus focused on ways to safeguard our elections. One of the core principles that drives our work is that states must maintain the ability to administer and manage their elections. I appreciated hearing from bold leaders at the state level about their efforts to improve elections, while expanding transparency and accountability,” said Tenney, in a portion of a statement.

According to the Associated Press, the former president and several supporters filed more than 50 lawsuits in multiple states over the election alleging fraud; none of the lawsuits were substantiated. Multiple individuals, including former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani who claimed a conspiracy by Democrats and voting machine companies to steal the election, face multibillion dollar lawsuits alleging defamation. Former attorney general William Barr and other Trump administration officials have publicly stated there was no major election fraud.