Nothing less than an independent commission will get to the bottom of the Jan. 6 sacking of the U.S. Capitol.

But if three Idaho Republicans — Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch as well as Congressman Russ Fulcher — have their way, you may never get answers to questions such as:

l What did former President Donald Trump and members of his administration do or say while his supporters stormed Congress as it was formalizing Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory? What were the president and his team doing once the assault began?

l Why were the security forces assigned to one of the most secure buildings on the planet overwhelmed? For instance, it took hours before the D.C. National Guard was deployed to the Capitol. Why?

l What fringe groups were involved and how detailed were their plans?

l Why and how was protester Ashli Babbit shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer?

At least three times across eight decades, Americans have turned to an independent commission to help steer their country through a catastrophe and prevent another:

l The Japanese raid that crippled much of the Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Supreme Court Justice Owen Josephus Roberts served as its chairman.

l The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in broad daylight in an American city on Nov. 22, 1963. The presidential commission was named after its chairman, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.

l The terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, murdering thousands, on Sept. 11, 2001. Passed by Congress and signed into law by then-President George W. Bush, the commission’s leadership included Tom Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, and Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana.

It beats the alternatives.

A select congressional committee investigation immediately invites allegations of partisanship, with elected House or Senate members angling to score political points. No member of Congress or senator has the time that an independent commission member has to devote to a broad investigation. And in most cases — such as the Watergate affair — the focus of a congressional committee is more narrowly defined.

Relying on law enforcement and the courts leaves an inquiry focused on the criminal culpability of individual defendants.

A commission offers the best chance to divorce partisanship from the inquiry. Its members have time to bore in on the details. The power of subpoena opens doors, records rooms and witness memories. From there, it can stitch together what happened and what can be done to prevent another episode.

On May 28, Crapo joined 34 of his fellow Senate Republicans in using the filibuster rule to block such a commission. He offered no explanation.

Risch was absent, but he told Boise’s KTVB he, too, would have voted no. Risch’s office said he prefers to leave the matter in the hands of the FBI and other criminal investigations.

On May 19, Fulcher joined with 174 of his fellow House Republicans in opposing the commission. With the support of 35 Republicans, including Idaho’s Mike Simpson, House Democrats approved the measure.

None of which is particularly out of character.

Crapo is a loyalist to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who so badly wants to reclaim the majority in next year’s midterm elections that he’s sacrificing the good of the nation. If he’s right, Crapo — who is up for reelection in 2022 — could claim the powerful Senate Finance Committee chairmanship.

When he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Risch was a complete Trump sycophant. So when Trump called on Republicans to reject this “Democrat trap,” Risch followed through.

And this only adds to Fulcher’s record, which includes supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to throw out the election results, voting against certification on Jan. 6, opposing Trump’s impeachment for inciting the insurrection and joining Congressman Matt Gaetz and about 28 others who in 2019 barged into a secure hearing room where three House committees were investigating Trump’s shakedown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for dirt on Biden and Democrats.

Perhaps Fulcher doesn’t want a commission to explore New Jersey Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill’s contention that some members of Congress were helping groups perform “reconnaissance” in the Capitol on Jan. 5.

Simpson on the other hand is willing to go where the facts lead — whether they implicate or exonerate members of his own party.

Crapo, Risch and Fulcher have decided the evidence unearthed already is damning enough.

The three of them have entered a plea of nolo contendere. — M.T.