After a segment on how Democrats are strategizing to keep Republicans from turning the 1/6 investigation into a circus, CNN's New Day brought on former GOPer Joe Walsh.
"What is your reaction to this strategy of Democrats? They're trying to keep it less political. We'll see if they succeed with that," Brianna Keilar said.
"I understand what the Democrats are doing, and I understand their concerns, but my plea to them would be not to be afraid. Look, the Republicans want this thing to be a circus. They want this thing to be a spectacle. They want this thing to be a partisan exercise because they don't want the truth. Democrats need to investigate, Brianna, the 'why.'
"If they really want to know the truth, why the heck did January 6th happen? Why? The why -- why were people there trying to overturn an election? Why was there an insurrection? The Democrats shouldn't be afraid, Brianna, to look into that truth, because that truth is that Donald Trump and the Republicans, the Big Lie, led to the why, to why people were there. I think Democrats really need to be unafraid here to pursue the truth," he said.
"The problem, though, as they used to say to me growing up on the farm, Joe, is the thing is, when you wrestle with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig likes it. The Republicans, as you say, they want this to be dirty. So how do the Democrats avoid that while getting the information you say they want?" John Berman said.
Walsh said it makes sense to do as much as they can in private, because public hearings tend to become spectacles.
"I think there's no doubt Kevin McCarthy, who I don't think wanted to appoint any Republicans to this committee at all and to just point to it and say it's a political exercise, I think he's going to appoint people, put people on this committee who are going to try to make it a partisan circus. So I think -- look, as much as Democrats can do privately and professionally, that's all good and well.
"I understand the politics and I get all of that and this will happen next year in an election year, but my God, we are six months removed from an attack on our government and none of the current investigations again, John, are investigating the why. Why did thousands of people go to Washington to attack our government? That truth, Democrats can't be afraid to go there because we sort of know where the 'there' is. That's the Big Lie. And that's going to point toward Republicans," he said.
