Former President Donald Trump fired off a four-word message to his email followers that asks for the identity of the law enforcement officer who fatally shot a woman during the Capitol Building siege on Jan. 6.
“Who shot Ashli Babbitt?” Trump wrote on Thursday afternoon.
Babbitt was killed as rioters attempted to gain entry to the House of Representatives chamber. The government has released no word on who shot Babbitt or even what agency the shooter worked for.
Trump’s statement comes on the heels of a vote to establish a select committee on the Capitol Riot. The killing has become a rallying cry for some on the right seeking their own answers about the events of Jan. 6.
The select committee takes the place of a failed effort to establish a bipartisan commission — and has the potential to become high political drama if Republicans choose to use it to press questions such as who was responsible for Babbitt’s death.
All but two GOP House members voted against forming the select committee and few have shown interest in serving on it. However some Republican members such as Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have expressed a desire to serve on it. Gaetz said that, “I think I’d be helpful.”
Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jefferies has fueled speculation that firebrand GOP members might be tapped to serve.
Jefferies quipped, “You know, it wouldn’t shock me if he [Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy} chose Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. You know, he’s got quite a collection of characters to choose from.”
Thus far Pelosi has chosen a Republican of her own, Rep. Liz Cheney, to be on the committee drawing ire from McCarthy, who called Cheney’s acceptance of the appointment from Democrat Pelosi “shocking.”
He did not say whether or not he will work with Pelosi to fill the 5 seats meant for the GOP.