Pelosi rejects Trump allies from Jan. 6 panel, casting doubt on its impartiality

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has blocked high-profile Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks from a special committee to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, drawing outrage from critics who say her move confirmed the probe is a partisan “charade.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called Pelosi’s Wednesday surprise an “egregious abuse of power” and threatened to yank the three other Republicans from the panel in response.

“Pelosi has broken this institution,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said at a hastily arranged press conference, adding that she “admitted to me” there was no other instance in which a House speaker blocked minority-party picks from a select committee.

McCarthy said Republicans want to focus on security failures that allowed a wild mob to break into the Capitol and disrupt certification of President Biden’s victory. He threatened to forge forward with “our own investigation” if Pelosi doesn’t reverse course.

“She went further than anyone’s gone before. I think it’s very clear to the American public that this is a sham,” McCarthy said.

“It’s undeniable this panel has lost all legitimacy and credibility. It shows exactly what I warned back at the beginning of January: that Pelosi would play politics with this,” he said.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not say why Jordan (R-Ohio) and Banks (R-Ind.) were rejected, but the pair of conservatives were expected to defend former President Donald Trump and try to flip the script on Democrats, who they claim hypocritically overlooked rioting last year that took place during anti-police brutality protests.

Republicans say they believe Pelosi and Democrats intend to use the committee to bash them ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

In a statement, Pelosi said, “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”

Pelosi said, “With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee.”

But Banks said Pelosi removed them because they planned to ask questions “that Democrats have never asked about why the Capitol was vulnerable on that day when we had intelligence for weeks leading up to Jan. 6.”

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) colorfully commented: “Pelosi is a dictator. She celebrated Texas Dems’ refusal to debate and vote the foundation of democracy — and now she rejects the Republican representation on a committee. Nice week, Queen Pelosi.”

Banks is the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee and recently met with Trump at his Bedminster, NJ, golf club.

Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, frequently draws headlines by grilling witnesses at congressional hearings. 

Jordan tweeted, “Speaker Pelosi just admitted the obvious, that the January 6th Select Committee is nothing more than a partisan political charade.”

Pelosi said that she told McCarthy she was concerned about “the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation. “

Pelosi accepted three other Republican panelists recommended by McCarthy — the relatively low-profile Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Troy Nehls (R-Texas). 

Another Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, accepted an earlier invitation by Pelosi to join the committee, outraging fellow Republicans who said she should not have accepted the gig from the Democratic leader.

In remarks likely to bolster Trump’s effort to unseat her in 2022, Cheney defended Pelosi, saying that “she objected to two, one of whom may well be a material witness to events that led to that day – that led to January 6th. The other, who disqualified himself by his comments in particular over the last 24 hours demonstrating that he is not taking this seriously.”

Notably, voting to reject Biden electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania was not Pelosi’s justification to boot Jordan and Banks, as Nehls also voted for the objections, which were premised on Republican claims that courts erred in absentee ballot and voter registration rulings.

Under the terms of the select committee, which passed largely along party lines in June after a bill to create a bipartisan commission was blocked in the Senate, Pelosi is able to veto McCarthy’s picks.

Democratic members of the new committee include the two lead prosecutors in impeachment trials against Trump — Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) is the body’s chairman and other members include Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) and Elaine Luria (D-Va.).

Thompson also stuck up for Pelosi, saying, “we owe it to our democracy to stay the course and not be distracted by side-shows.”

Pelosi’s move to ax Republican picks precedes the committee’s first hearing next week.

But Rep: Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) told The Post: “If Pelosi really wants to get to the truth, why fear Jim Jordan and Jim Banks? Clearly those two members will undercut her anti-Trump, anti-conservative [efforts] heading into the midterms.” 

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) added knowingly, “It’s unfortunate and somewhat unprecedented but I can understand why she’s not going to let Kevin put two of our more articulate, aggressive congressmen on the committee.”