Byron York: Time for Transparency Runs Out

Within a week, Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives. With all the members of the Jan.6 committee selected by Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, it will cease to exist. As the clock ticks down it seems that the committee’s demise may leave some important questions unanswered.

The most important question of this kind is: What happens the material that the committee has gathered? The committee had interviewed more than 1000 people. According to some reports, the number could be as high as 1,200. Many of those interviews were recorded on tape and transcribed. Even the ones that weren’t were noted by committee investigators.

Each of the ten hearings were made for TV and featured short video interviews. A few witnesses spoke in person to repeat what they had previously told investigators. The public show showed that all Pelosi-chosen members were in agreement on all issues. There was no debate between them, and there was no unscripted interaction with witnesses. The whole thing was tightly controlled. The public was only allowed to see what the committee leaders intended. It was only a fraction of the information that the committee had gathered.

The question is now: Will the video, transcripts, and notes from the more than 1000 interviews be made public? This is the most important point to remember: The chairman can do whatever it wants. In this instance, the chairman is Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson from Mississippi. He decides which records the committee will archive, and which records it will delete. The House resolution that created the committee states that the committee will cease to exist upon its termination. “the records of the Select Committee shall become the records of such committee or committees designated by the Speaker.” But it is the chairman who decides what is acceptable. “record” And