The Truth Could Set America Free. That’s What Kevin McCarthy Fears.

Photo Illustration courtesy of Salon/Getty Images

Hearings began today before the bipartisan House Select Committee to investigate the insurrection of January 6, 2021. The first witnesses: four Capitol Police officers who detailed their harrowing, personal experiences as they fought to protect the elected Congressional representatives from a violent mob. 

It’s not surprising that this is how the hearings began as the Committee seeks to get to the truth behind the insurrection. The false narratives by the far right have attempted to distort not only what happened that day but also what led up to it. They are also hoping, for obvious political reasons, to shape the country’s perceptions ahead of the midterms in 2022. To counter this, the work of the Committee is also focused not just on what happened on January 6 but on the Big Lie that fueled it, not only on the failures in intelligence and security before and on the day of the insurrection but what we must be doing now to prepare for and prevent another attack.

Let’s call their work the Truth, capital T.

The Truth today from the police officers took on one of the boldest GOP lies: that the riot was somehow a peaceful protest—indistinguishable from a group of “tourists” at the Capitol—rather than a violent and deadly one where 140 officers were injured and five people lost their lives. Despite abundant video evidence to the contrary, many die-hard members of the GOP base refuse to admit what their own eyes saw. But we shouldn’t be surprised at this by now, nor should that deter the inquiry. The officers’ testimony, under oath, will preserve for the historical record what occurred in the words of those who were there on the ground, and it will give the media ample material to focus upon and amplify to Americans still willing to listen.

There is also the false flag conspiracy theory that the riot was instigated and conducted by members of “Antifa” or even by federal officers according to one bizarre theory promoted by Fox News’s Tucker Carlson. These narratives are believed by a sizable percentage of MAGA faithful, so in the coming days the Truth likely will comprise testimony not only from federal officials but also possibly from rioters themselves, who were charged by and are cooperating now with prosecutors. For example, they could testify, as they did in numerous courts and through sworn affidavits, that they were present on January 6 at the invitation of the former president, and that they understood it was his wish that they halt the official proceedings. It will be increasingly difficult, at least for most members of the public, to believe that the mob was anything but the former president’s supporters acting upon his understood instructions.

The Committee will also delve into the past, pinning down who was involved with the organizing and funding of the rally and whether they had any ties to extremist groups such as the Three Percenters, Oathkeepers or the Proud Boys. This phase of the Committee’s work will proceed in tandem with the nearly 600 arrests already made as they work to establish a timeline, a full list of the principal actors, and even their possible connections to officials in Congress or those close to the former president. 

Another area of inquiry will focus on failures of intelligence and security, which have been probed in a limited way but never yet in connection with broad social media signals, right-wing organizing and funding, and violent terrorist cells over which prosecutors now have a much firmer understanding. Importantly, the Committee will be able to subpoena records of what was gathered, communicated, and in some key instances ignored by law enforcement. The Truth will counter yet another false claim that Speaker Pelosi was somehow responsible for the lack of security at the Capitol—a desperate attempt by the right to shift blame away from those who may have been following questionable orders or restrictions, perhaps even from newly-installed Pentagon officials.

It’s often said that would-be fascists fail at their first attempts to seize power but then return with more deadly and effective efforts after having learned their lesson. The work of the Committee must therefore be preventative, assisting lawmakers and prosecutors in identifying risks, radical groups and dangerous propaganda that might form the foundation for a future attack. Importantly, the Truth will help tie many disparate factors together: How did the Big Lie about a stolen election feed radicalization? What groups are recruiting, organizing and even arming themselves ahead of future elections? Who within the former administration, Congress and various state houses continues to propagate election conspiracies?

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy understandably wants to paint the entire procedure as partisan because he knows that the Truth likely will ensnare members of his own party, further tarnish the GOP in the eyes of middle America, and widen the rift between Trump loyalists and traditional conservatives, two of which (Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger) now sit on the Committee against his express wishes. McCarthy has resorted to labeling them as “Pelosi Republicans” but they cannot easily be dismissed and will receive an outsized amount of press because of their principled stands and courage in bucking GOP leadership. 

McCarthy knows, at least for now, that he has been outplayed by Speaker Pelosi and that the steady drumbeat of the hearings, leading up to the final reports of the Committee, conceivably could tip enough votes in 2022 to affect control of the House. He knows that the Truth—which will shape how America understands the past, present and future around January 6—could also test the unequal hold the GOP has over our politics through its gerrymandering, voter suppression and coordinated disinformation and racial grievance campaigns. 

The Truth, by itself, is worth fighting to establish. Without it, we cannot really understand what has happened, nor can we move forward with any certainty. But as McCarthy must sense, in the end the Truth also may be the only weapon strong enough to beat back the GOP in the elections ahead and keep him—and the man he serves—from ever regaining power.