Trump’s Effort To Overturn The Election Should Be Investigated Like 9/11

It is imperative that a multitude of urgent questions be answered in a comprehensive way, by an independent body with subpoena power to review documentary evidence and compel testimony under oath. The crisis Trump initiated needs to be examined with the equivalent of the 9/11 Commission established after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

At first blush, the comparison may seem overwrought. Obviously, nothing that has happened in the past ten weeks — including the grotesque and deadly mob takeover of the Capitol during the official certification of Biden’s victory — is of the same horrific, history-altering magnitude of 9/11.

The similarity flows from the way that both events demand public understanding and accountability. Both events represented attacks on the basic functioning of U.S. institutions. Both revealed vulnerabilities in our customs and procedures that many people did not sufficiently appreciate until disaster struck.

Here’s what we know for sure: There was an assault on rule of law at the U.S. Capitol led by people who were inspired by Trump and believed they were acting as he would wish them to do. If events had unfolded even slightly differently, the five fatalities could have been many times greater, and included many members of the House and Senate.

Here’s what we have reasonable grounds to wonder about, and a profound responsibility to clarify: The degree to which the events at the Capitol are part of a systematic effort by Trump to reverse an election result through what must be labeled forthrightly as an attempted coup d’etat.

Is that phrase hyperventilating? There are many questions to be answered before we can know for sure. We shouldn’t depend on the next wave of journalists’ books or public officials’ memoirs for the answers. An official body — created by an act of law as the 9/11 Commission was — can shine a light on such possible scandals as:

— Why did Trump fire Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Nov. 9, and was this preceded by pressure from Trump or his designees to elicit Esper’s support for military assistance in his bid to retain power?

— What deliberations regarding an effort to reverse the results of the election is former Attorney General William Barr aware of, and what would sworn testimony and texts and emails show about the circumstances of his late December departure? This departure followed public criticism by Trump of Barr, and numerous news reports said it also followed extensive negotiations between Barr and White House counsel Pat A. Cipollone.

— What interactions between Trump or his surrogates with the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Byung J. “BJay” Pak, occurred before Pak’s forced resignation on Jan. 4?

— What will testimony, emails and texts show about the precise nature of any communication that may have taken place between Trump, White House aides, or outside advisers to Trump and people who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol?

— Now that events have highlighted the importance of something many people previously did not think much about — the central role of the obscure General Services Administration in allowing presidential transitions to proceed — what changes in law or procedure would prevent future transitions from being delayed, as Biden’s was, once results are clear? What interactions took place between the Trump White House and GSA Administrator Emily W. Murphy?