06.09.22

Durbin: Keeping Our Democracy Require Vigilance And Truth

Ahead of first January 6th hearing, Durbin delivers speech on the Senate floor, calls for truth

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the first public hearing held by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. This evening, the Committee will begin to lay out publicly, for the first time, the coordinated plan to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election and prevent the peaceful transition of power to a new Administration. During Durbin’s speech, he highlighted the need to discover the truth of what happened that day and days leading up to it.

Durbin said, “For more than 10 months, the January 6th Committee has labored diligently to discover and document the truth about the day we nearly lost our democracy… January 6 revealed to the world how fragile democracy can be. Keeping our democracy requires vigilance.  Often, it requires sacrifice.  And it requires a willingness to accept truth. It is regrettable that our Republican colleagues in the Senate filibustered the creation of an independent commission to investigate January 6th.  You have to ask yourself:  What were they afraid of?  Who were they afraid of?  I think the answer is obvious. But the American people will learn the truth.”

All three major broadcast networks and all but one cable news network—Fox News—will carry this evening’s hearing live. During his speech, Durbin also thanked the two Republicans on the committee, Representatives Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16) and Liz Cheney (R-WY-At-large), for their courage.  

Durbin continued, “The proposal was made, and it was a legitimate, thoughtful, good-faith proposal to establish a bipartisan commission, to get to the bottom of it. Who was behind it? And to ask the hard questions -- what role did President Donald Trump play in what unfolded after his rally on January 6, 2021? Some people don't even want to raise the question, let alone hear the answer. History demands truth.”

Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.    

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