Even more curious, the committee has not investigated the one person tasked with maintaining (including security) the US Capitol grounds, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Why hasn’t Nancy Pelosi testified under oath about preparations she took or didn’t take in preparation for the largest protest and lawful objections to the certification of some of the Electoral College votes?
The UCSP Chief says that Pelosi’s security boss didn’t like the “optics” of declaring an emergency, which would’ve been legally required to mobilize the guard, and it be made to appear that the Speaker had lost control.
Her dereliction of duty created no backstop for the protests to run into before parts of it became a riot.
Is this why Pelosi won’t release the 14,000 hours of video surveillance at the Capitol? This footage is immune to FOIA requests.
A day after the conflict, we learned that the Department of Defense offered the USCP the National Guard three days prior to the planned objections on January 6th.
This wasn’t a passive request either. According to testimony that predates the formation of the select committee from Chris Miller, the acting head of defense, the president actually inquired if the District’s mayor had requested the National Guard. He authorized him to “fill” any requests. This is a constitutional and legal distinction as the president cannot order the guard in without a request. He can only authorize.
For nearly two years, Trump has told the world that this was the case ping ponging between offers of 10,000 and 20,000 guardsmen.
This summer, Kash Patel, who was appointed Chief of Staff for Miller, released an “unclassified” memo detailing the steps the department took to offer security to the District and Congress. Patel, too, confirms that the president not only authorized his government to fulfill any requests but actually suggested it himself.