The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Pete Aguilar - Getting to the Truth About the Capitol Riot

Episode Date: September 27, 2021

California Representative Pete Aguilar discusses the congressional committee investigation of the January 6 attack on the Capitol and talks about the plight of refugees in the U.S. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at, that's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News, listened to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17th. Congressman Aguilar, welcome to the Daily Show. Thanks for having me, Trevor. Let's jump straight into it. You are one of the members of the Select Committee that is going to be investigating the January 6th riot.

Now, it's really interesting because in America itself, there isn't an agreement on what January 6th was. You have half the country that says, no, these were people protesting, and maybe the protest got a little out of hand, but it was just a protest. And then the other half of the country says, no, this was an insurrection where people try to overthrow the government. To many people, it might seem obvious, you know, in assigning the blame to somebody like Donald Trump, who obviously sold the seeds for what we experienced on January 6th. However, there would be others who would argue that many people can plant seeds, you know, we can't hold them accountable for the actions of an extreme few? Because I mean, relatively, this was a small group of people. You know, it wasn't all 50 million of Trump supporters or people who voted for Donald Trump.

So are you worried that this could set a precedent where you say politicians in what they may intimate or what they may say in a speech or the ideas they have should be held accountable for the actions of people who may, you know, take those things in an extreme manner? Well I think that's a fair question to ask but you know ultimately these individuals you know came across police boundaries and lines, they enter the government building without permission, they sought to disturb the certification of the election, which is an official activity. That's ultimately what they're going to be judged by and what the Department of Justice is charged to be to be to's ultimately what they're going to be judged by

and what the Department of Justice has charged, many of them with. The discussion of what was the president's role, what did he know, what should he have said, or what did he say behind closed doors. You know, I hope we can get to that at some point, and we're not trying to assign blame specific to that. Those individuals will have to answer to the Department of Justice within our system. But the question is, how do you ensure that this doesn't happen again?

And how do we ensure that leadership at the top genuinely means leadership? And the role that the president played in this is a story that I hope gets told as well. What's really interesting about this incident is that it's something something something something something something something something, the s, the, the, the, thiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thia, the president, you know, played in this, you know, is a story that I hope gets told as well. What's really interesting about this incident is that it's something that affected yourself personally, you know, at one point those people were 15 feet, I believe, from you inside the building. What's interesting, though, is many of your colleagues on the Republican side have said, hey, we weren't afraid, these were just, you know, disgruntled citizens voicing their opinions. This is getting blown out of proportion. It wasn't as bad as it seems.

Because they were also in the building, or because they were also near the scene of what happened, people are saying, well, who do you give the weight to? How do you go about telling the story and finding the truth in a post-truth era. Well, hopefully, you know, we can just let the facts speak for themselves and the chronology of the events, I think, will tell the story. And, you know, some of my colleagues may say some of those things in public, but, you know, they also knew what was outside those doors. And we were there, we were there. And there was a lot of uncertainty. You know, I might have been more scared than someone on their side of the aisle, but everybody knew that what was happening wasn't right.

It wasn't normal. And so what we need to do is also just kind of dispel that this is not normal. This is not how America functions. And I was right there by that back door as they're banging on the door, but you're right. It is a unique situation because we're witnesses as well as participants, and now we're going to have a hand in telling the story of what happened. But not in a partisan way, not even in a bipartisan way, in a nonpartisan way is what we seek to accomplish

with the work that we're doing. Let's talk a little bit about what you hope that story will achieve. You know, there are some who say this story is about getting to the truth. They are obviously those who say, well, the story has been told. The impeachment hearings, they dealt with this and some feel like this is the Democrats using the story to bolster their message into the midterms. How do you respond to that criticism? Now this isn't about, this is just about telling the truth. This is about telling the story. It isn't about politics. There's Democrats and

Republicans around that table at the elected level as well as some of the staff members who are working with us have worked for Democratic and Republican administrations alike. And so we're going to let the product of the work stand on its own. But it's important that we get this right. And one of the things, Jamie Raskin serves on this committee with me, and he led the second impeachment. And one of the things he would even admit is we're going to have more information when we do this report, when we put out this report next year than they had just weeks after the insurrection. And so that's the important piece is the data that we're getting, the interviews, the testimony

that we'll receive, hopefully will shape a better, more thorough outcome than anything that has been done to date. I want to switch gears for a moment and talk about some of the the the the the the the the the the other the other the other the other the other the other the other the other the other the other the other the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the of the. thea thorough outcome than anything that has been done today. I want to switch gears for a moment and talk about some of the other news that is taking place right now in the United States, particularly in and around the border. One of the biggest conversations involves a large group of immigrants from Haiti who have come over from South America into the United States across I believe it's the Rio Grande and some of the images that have come out of that have now stirred a conversation in and around. How does America enforce its borders and what should America be doing in the enforcement of

its borders? Now, how do you handle this situation sensitively and do you think the administration is doing a good job of not just handling it, but I think we always communicate it better, but let's just step back, and I hope the American public allows us to step back and talk a little bit about why these individuals are fleeing. Whether they're fleeing Haiti or whether they're fleeing northern triangle countries in Central America, you know, they're fleeing violence and oppression, many times, they're fleeing conditions of climate change as well. And so, you know, these these these these these these these these th the the the the the the the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, you know, you know, you know, you thi, you thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're fleeing conditions of climate change as well. And so, you know, these are individuals who are seeking, you know, status as refugees and asylees, and they deserve to go through a process that hears them out and that makes a decision as to whether they are allowable and for what reasons.

But like you said, there are so many needs economically within this country too, and there are many, you know, positions that Americans just won't do the work. And so, you know, we're built on immigrants. This is a country that celebrates immigrants, or at least we used to. And we need to make sure that we stay true to that principle. And so, but I agree that there need to be rules of the road and there needs to be to be to be a to be a to be a to bethat principle. And so, but I agree that there need to be rules of the road and there needs to be a process. And unfortunately, Donald Trump spent years trying to break this immigration system and disrupt the process. And so now as the new administration, as the Biden administration is making, you know, inroads,

it's taking a little bit of time. And I think that's what people are seeing, but what we are confident is that we can create a system with rules of the road that allows people an opportunity. Well, Congressman, thank you so much for the time. I know you probably have to get back in. The bells are going to start ringing soon, which may throw everything off. So thank you so much for joining us. Good luck with the committee and hopefully we'll see you again on the show. Thanks so much for having to Trevor. Appreciate it.

Watch the Daily Show, week nights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like, none of this stuff gets looked at.

That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.