The Guardian view on investigating 6 January: the truth about the storming of the Capitol

The attitude of Republican politicians to the committee shows exactly why it is needed

The investigation into the deadly insurrection of 6 January is not one but two processes. The first is an attempt to discover the truth about those events: not only what happened, but who, beyond the members of the mob, was responsible and in what ways. The second is the task of getting people to accept that truth - knowing that many will not.

Senior Republicans initially acknowledged the horror of the events and the culpability of Donald Trump, whose big lie of a stolen election triggered the assault upon the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader - who is said to have telephoned the president urging him to call the rioters off as they tried to break through his office window - said that Mr Trump bore responsibility. He and others called for a 9/11-style independent commission.