by Steven Richards
New evidence gathered by Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight‘s investigation into Capitol security on Jan. 6, and the breach, shows that the Democrat-led Select Committee’s investigation missed some of the most important evidence of security failures and missteps that led to the events of that day.
Years of investigation and multiple reports later, the official January 6 probe from the Select Committee missed several key developments that have now come to forefront in the debate over how the U.S. government can learn from what happened on the day the U.S. Capitol was breached.
For example, the much touted Final Report from the Democrat-led January 6 Select Committee focused heavily on former President Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud and the actions of his administration officials leading up to, during, and after January 6, yet failed to address the security lapses.
These lapses include how then Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was transported within yards of a suspected pipe bomb and how Nancy Pelosi’s Sergeant-at-Arms received warnings about a potential Capitol breach the night before the Jan. 6 riot.
The new evidence has challenged the narrative presented by the Select Committee, blaming then-President Trump for the “insurrection” and attempt to interrupt the electoral vote count.
New evidence
- HBO documentary footage shot by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter showing the the House leader expressing responsibility for the failure;
- Top Pelosi security aides—especially the House Sergeant-at-Arms—received security briefings before Jan. 6 that suggested a breach of the Capitol was possible;
- The Trump Pentagon offered National Guard support for days before Jan. 6 riot but was rebuked;
- Footage showing assembled protestors entering through and unsecured and unlocked door at the Capitol building;
- The Government Accountability Office reported highlighted intelligence failures that led to Capitol breach; and
- The U.S. Secret Service brought then-Vice President-elect Harris within yards of a suspected pipe bomb.
Pelosi admits some responsibility for Jan. 6 security breach
The footage, released by Loudermilk in June depicts Speaker Pelosi and her chief of staff in a tense moment as an SUV whisked them away from the Capitol complex, speeding through an underground parking garage, as protestors breached the building.
“We have responsibility, Terri,” Pelosi exclaimed to her chief of staff Terri McCullough at the beginning of the short video. The videotape, which Loudermilk posted publicly on social media on X, and has been uploaded to various platforms, shows that the then-Speaker at least appears to recognize that Democratic leadership at the Capitol perhaps bore some responsibility for the security failures.
“We did not have any accountability for what was going on there, and we should have,” Pelosi said in the footage not included or even mentioned in the Select Committee’s report. In the footage, Pelosi continued, saying “This is ridiculous.”
The footage was recorded by Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra, who helped HBO shoot a documentary about the Jan 6 riot. But the video was not aired in its entirety until June, when Republicans on the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee released it after obtaining it from the TV network.
HBO did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News about the unused documentary footage.
Pelosi’s Sergeant-at-Arms received security briefings ahead of Jan. 6
This week, Just the News reported that top House security aides under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi got stark warnings from police the night before the Jan. 6 riots that protesters might try to breach the U.S. Capitol through its tunnel systems and to harass or block lawmakers from voting to certify Joe Biden’s presidential election win, according to newly obtained memos and text messages.
The documents obtained by Just the News also confirm that Pelosi’s team played a key role in the botched security planning for that fateful day.
Congressional investigators told Just the News that this evidence may indicate why Pelosi felt she had some responsibility for the security failures, which she appeared to admit in the unaired HBO footage.
The Trump Pentagon offered National Guard support four days before riot
Another significant piece of evidence ignored by the Select Committee’s final report is that despite President Trump’s rhetoric calling for senators and representatives to decline to count electoral votes from states where he believed fraud was committed, Trump’s Defense Department offered National Guard troops to protect the Capitol just days before Jan. 6.
These initial offers were rebuffed by Capitol security—including the Capitol Police and House and Senate Sergeants-at-Arms.
Rejection of Trump’s offer to provide National Guard
A timeline assembled by the U.S. Capitol Police showed that Trump Pentagon officials reached out to Capitol Police deputy chief Sean Gallagher, on Jan. 2, 2021, to see if a request for troops was forthcoming, but the offer was declined after consultation with then-Chief Steve Sund.
The rejection came as new evidence was being funneled to the Capitol Police that showed there was a potential for violence following the massive Trump rally planned on the Ellipse. For example, by late December 2020, Capitol Police internal emails and documents show intelligence was collected that evidenced some groups expecting to attend the rally were talking on social media or fringe websites about tactics like blocking tunnels leading to the Capitol.
After the assessment began to change, Sund reevaluated the situation and sought permission from security officials for a request to deploy the National Guard to supplement his forces. However, both the Senate and House Sergeants-at-Arms denied the request, Just the News reported.
The House Sergeants-at-Arms answers directly to the Speaker of the House, who was at that time Rep. Pelosi, and the Senate Sergeants-at-Arms answers to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, who at that time was headed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Security personnel leave Capitol unlocked and unguarded
Last year, Just the News obtained footage showing a door on the west side of the U.S. Capitol was left open and unguarded, allowing more than 300 protesters to enter the building during the height of the riot.
The footage shows that the door was unlocked after Capitol Police directed a small number of intruders already in the building towards an emergency door, marked by a sign. After a few of the intruders exit the doors, they remain unlocked, permitting hundreds of protestors to enter the building unchecked with no police presence at the entryway.
Current and former Capitol Police officers as well as congressional aides briefed on security told Just the News last year the video footage is should be a security lesson. The fateful decision to escort several intruders through the emergency door triggered the emergency system and left the door unlocked, creating a new vulnerability.
Government Accountability Office report highlights intelligence failures
Last year, the GAO, the non-partisan investigative arm of Congress concluded that the Capitol Police, the FBI, and eight other federal agencies had gathered intelligence that certain extremists were planning to commit violence at the Capitol on January 6, but that they failed to adapt security protocols and get threat assessments to key decision-makers, Just the News previously reported.
“Some agencies did not fully process information or share it, preventing critical information from reaching key federal entities responsible for securing the National Capital Region against threats,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded in the February report.
GAO reserved its harshest criticism for the Capitol Police, which is the lead agency in charge of security at the Capitol complex, according to Just the News’ previous reporting. “Capitol Police did not share threat products with its frontline officers,” the watchdog concluded, imploring Congress to press those agencies to change failed practices and procedures to avoid a repeat tragedy.
Vice President-elect Harris brought within yards of pipe bomb
Just the News previously reported that security footage from the Capitol complex shows that the Secret Service brought Vice President-elect Kamala Harris into a garage at the Democratic National Committee on Jan. 6, just yards away from where a pipe bomb was planted the night before by an unidentified subject, who has yet to be found by law enforcement.
Loudermilk said that this was troubling. He told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show at the time that the committee knows there was “actionable intelligence that there was going to be an attack on the Capitol.” He said that he believes the Secret Service had access to this information, so he asked: “So, why did they not catch a pipe bomb?”
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Steven Richards is a reporter for Just the News.
Photo “Jan 6 Protesters” by Tyler Merbler. CC BY 2.0
