Saying former President Donald Trump “bears responsibility” for the January 6 insurrection on Sunday, Scott Brown—who served as Trump’s ambassador to New Zealand—urged his fellow Republicans to support an independent inquiry into the Capitol riots.
In an op-ed for the Boston Globe, the former Massachusetts senator had bemoaned the “civil war” that embroils the GOP right now, calling on the party to “confront the deadly events” of January 6. “The healing process starts with an independent, bipartisan commission to uncover the facts of those events, and that is why I am urging my Republican colleagues to get behind such an effort,” he wrote. “Above all else, Republicans must be crystal clear that the rule of law matters.”
Despite the fact that Democrats agreed to nearly all of Republicans’ concessions on the creation of the commission, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have come out against it. And while the bill did pass the House—with 35 Republicans voting for it—the legislation appears dead on arrival in the Senate where it would need 60 votes, including 10 Republicans, to break a filibuster.
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Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Brown again called on Republicans to back the bipartisan commission, saying it was a “no brainer” before seemingly taking a shot at GOP lawmakers who have whitewashed and downplayed the violent riots.
“They weren’t tourists, they weren’t visiting just to have fun,” Brown declared. “We had people who were ready to wreak havoc. People died.”
CNN anchor Dana Bash brought up past comments made by Republicans such as Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), noting that they’ve said Trump is responsible for inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
“Do you agree with them, that Trump bears responsibility for the insurrection?” Bash wondered aloud.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he bears responsibility,” the ex-senator replied. “I think his presidency was diminished as a result of that. And I think he’s paying a price. He has been impeached twice. He was impeached for those actions.”
“That is why it’s imperative to find out what role everybody played and figure out why, first of all,” he continued, adding: “I thought it was an action movie, banana republic, some type of dictatorship. I was embarrassed, angry. And I want to make sure it never, ever happens again.”
Regarding the former president’s relentless peddling of the “Big Lie” that the election was stolen from him via widespread voter fraud, going so far as calling his loss the “Crime of the Century” recently, Brown said that he disagrees with Trump.
“If there were concerns about the election, as the Supreme Court said with the laches decision, you should have gone and figured it out before the election, not after the fact,” he stated.
Brown also wouldn’t commit to supporting Trump if he decided to run for president again in 2024.
“I am an undecided, independent — well, I’m a Republican—undecided voter right now,” he concluded.
