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House committee member urges hearings after arrest of Jan. 6 pipe-bomb suspect, questions scope of pardons
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Summary
An unidentified committee member opened a select subcommittee session on Jan. 6, praised the FBI’s arrest of a pipe-bomb suspect, accused some Republicans of promoting debunked conspiracy theories blaming a Capitol Police officer, and asked whether presidential pardons could cover the suspect; the member also called for hearings on pardons and officer compensation.
An unidentified member of the House Judiciary: House Committee opened a select subcommittee session by praising FBI agents for apprehending the January 6 pipe-bomb suspect and by thanking Capitol Police for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
The member said, "We know that Brian Cole voted for Donald Trump twice," and quoted investigators' notes that Cole told the FBI he came to Washington because he was "going to protest in support of Donald Trump." The member told the panel the FBI concluded Cole "set what the FBI concluded were viable explosive devices on Capitol Hill," and credited Capitol Police and a bystander with discovering and disarming the devices.
Why it matters: the member framed the arrest as one of the remaining unresolved questions from Jan. 6 and pressed whether President Trump’s broad pardon language for people "convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near United States Capitol on 01/06/2021" could apply to the pipe-bomb suspect. "Would he be covered by this unprecedented corrupt pardon offered by Donald Trump?" the member asked, citing statements from the suspect’s lawyer that the pardon might apply.
The member also criticized the spread of false theories that blamed a Capitol Police officer for the pipe-bombing, saying multiple outlets and some members of Congress promoted those claims. The member said those theories "have finally been debunked, but they've not been put to rest," and urged that any member of Congress who promoted the false claim should apologize to the officer.
Several broader concerns and requests for follow-up were raised. The member asked why officials who promoted the so-called "big lie" now hold positions of power and called for hearings on presidential pardons of Jan. 6 participants and on the public-safety implications of those pardons. The member contrasted a $5,000,000 payout to "Ashley Babbitt's family" with what the member said was no compensation to roughly 140 officers injured on Jan. 6 and five officers who died in the days that followed, and asked whether the government has "done justice to the police officers who defended us."
Disruption: the hearing included a brief, disorderly interruption by an unidentified speaker who directed profane abuse at officers; the chair restored order and the member continued.
The member framed the session as part of the select subcommittee’s continuing work to investigate Jan. 6 and said, "I would love to see someone show how anything we have found has been contradicted." The member yielded back to the chairman at the end of the remarks. The hearing record included no formal votes or motions during this opening statement; the member repeatedly requested further hearings and clarifications to be scheduled as next steps.
