The Capitol riots fallout continues. While Speaker Pelosi is determined that everyone except for herself be held accountable for what happened on that dark day, her knowledge and conduct regarding the nation re-shaping incident is critical to understanding how it all unfolded.
The Speaker recently claimed that her interest in relitigating her case about the Capitol riots, which failed to lead to the indictment of former President Donald Trump, is merely about finding the “truth.”
“There’s really strong support in the country for us to seek the truth, find the truth, but also understand how we have to protect the American people from what might be out there in terms of domestic terrorism and the rest,” Pelosi argued.
Speaker Pelosi wants this commission to have subpoena power.
“You have to have subpoena power,” Pelosi added.
The backdrop for Pelosi’s sudden interest in the truth is a Washington D.C. that is perpetuating a military lockdown that is growing more ominous by the day. 5,000 National Guard troops are expected to maintain their presence at the capitol through mid-March.
“In light of recent events, I can unequivocally say that vast improvements to the physical security infrastructure must be made to include permanent fencing, and the availability of ready, back-up forces in close proximity to the Capitol,” Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said.
It is a fact that far-right, anarchist and even left-wing radicals participated in the capitol siege itself. Despite this fact, the Democrats are seeking to justify keeping tens of millions of law-abiding conservatives and Trump supporters under indefinite suspicion of fomenting insurrection.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, has blasted current Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the military lockdown of D.C. and urged her to “tear down this fence.”
“There is no excuse for razor wire to be blocking the American people from our Capitol. It is the People’s House. The fencing is more than an eyesore—it is an insult,” Gingrich wrote.
“American conservatives, according to the Left, are so dangerous we must keep the National Guard in our nation’s capital and surround the Capitol Building with razor wire and fencing—never mind that the group of thugs who attacked the Capitol in January in no way represent the 74 million people who voted Republican in 2020,” he continued.
It is important to understand that the Capitol riots are the premise the Democrats are using to insist that a heavy security presence be permanently maintained at the nation’s capitol.
But the capitol security failures on January 6th were due to such profound negligence that it raises questions about whether or not it was willful. Despite an attempt to deflect blame by appointing an “independent” “fact-finding” commision, the Pelosi-run House of Representatives is itself central to answering such questions.
Speaker Pelosi forming an investigation into the Capitol riots is tantamount to a defendant asking to be the judge in her own case. The political establishment is heaping blame upon the Capitol Police for the security failures, but it raises questions about scapegoating.
What were the Capitol Police’s orders on January 6th? Who gave them? Why did several police officers wind up dead after the capitol riots?
The number of police officers who have been suspended over the January 6th uprising has now increased to six, while at least 36 officers are under investigation, officials said on Friday.
“Our Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the actions of 35 police officers from that day. We currently have suspended six of those officers with pay. Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman has directed that any member of her department whose behavior is not in keeping with the Department’s Rules of Conduct will face appropriate discipline,” the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement.
The Capitol Police’s conduct during the uprising at the capitol building has led to swirling controversy and a host of unanswered questions. There are videos that clearly show that capitol police officers opened the doors to protesters.
Capitol police open doors for the protestors. They stand aside and invite them inside. pic.twitter.com/OnSd3KGzz5
— Christina Bobb (@christina_bobb) January 8, 2021
“I disagree with it but I respect what you’re trying to do,” one officer said.
Capitol Police appeared to be wholly unprepared for the protest.
IMPORTANT: this is exact moment the siege of the Capitol building began as the two men in front ripped down a preliminary barrier & rushed officers who were behind a 2nd barrier
They then encouraged others to follow their lead. Officers appeared to be taken completely off guard pic.twitter.com/LE0a01PXBi
— ELIJAH (@ElijahSchaffer) January 6, 2021
Police officers were even compelled to abandon barricades and let potential rioters into unsecured areas on the complex:
This video has been circulating of what appears to be police opening barricades at Capitol in Washington DC yesterday, I wanted to offer alternative angle of what our FNTV team got of this moment. #stopthesteal #January6th #JAN6 https://t.co/scczRJZME3 pic.twitter.com/40eK0shb7y
— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) January 7, 2021
Some even pleaded for police to do something besides stand and watch during the capitol riots:
“Why are you letting this happen?” a man asked. “Why haven’t you called for backup?”
Capitol Police officers even stood idly by as the rioters took over the Senate chamber to deliver speeches.
The Capitol Police were clearly overrun and unprepared for the flood of protesters. But it wasn’t because they were taken by surprise. Indeed, radical groups, labor unions, and progressive corporations were all banking on it to happen. They even crafted a Trump “incitement” narrative in March of last year in anticipation of it to happen.
Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund told the Congress six times there was a high risk of rioting days before the building assault. After Speaker Pelosi forced Sund to resign following the riot, he wroter her a letter explaining exactly what went wrong. The House and Sergeant at arms were also forced to resign.
“Sund told the Post that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving was concerned with the ‘optics’ of declaring an emergency ahead of the protests and rejected a National Guard presence,” NPR reported. “He says Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger recommended that he informally request the Guard to be ready in case it was needed to maintain security.”
His requests for additional National Guard troops would be turned down.
“Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said he requested that the National Guard be placed on standby in the days before the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, but House and Senate security officials turned him down,” the USA Today reported.
Acting D.C. Chief Yogananda Pittmann has also drawn attention to the numerous security failures. Her own letter makes the advanced warning clear:
“By January 4th, the Department knew that the January 6th event would not be like any of the previous protests held in 2020. We knew that militia groups and white supremacists organizations would be attending. We also knew that some of these participants were intending to bring firearms and other weapons to the event. We knew that there was a strong potential for violence and that Congress was the target.”
Pittmann’s statement also lays out that the Capitol Police had requested more “manpower”:
First, it became clear early on that the Department needed much more manpower than what was available. We received immediate assistance from the MPD who sent a hundred officers within minutes of the initial breach of the outer security perimeter. Chief Sund immediately coordinated with federal agencies and law enforcement partners across the area to gain additional boots on the ground. He also lobbied the Board for authorization to bring in the National Guard, but he was not granted authorization for over an hour.
Days before the riots, the National Guard was mobilized, but the troops levels and resources were hamstrung, raising further questions about the aforementioned “optics.” Vanity Fair even reported about a January 5th meeting where President Trump is cited as having said that D.C. needed at least 10,000 troops there:
On the evening of January 5—the night before a white supremacist mob stormed Capitol Hill in a siege that would leave five dead—the acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, was at the White House with his chief of staff, Kash Patel. They were meeting with President Trump on “an Iran issue,” Miller told me. But then the conversation switched gears. The president, Miller recalled, asked how many troops the Pentagon planned to turn out the following day. “We’re like, ‘We’re going to provide any National Guard support that the District requests,’” Miller responded. “And [Trump] goes, ‘You’re going to need 10,000 people.’ No, I’m not talking bullshit. He said that. And we’re like, ‘Maybe. But you know, someone’s going to have to ask for it.’” At that point Miller remembered the president telling him, “‘You do what you need to do. You do what you need to do.’ He said, ‘You’re going to need 10,000.’ That’s what he said. Swear to God.”
The Pentagon placed limits on the National Guard’s ability to mobilize and prepare for the riots, the Washington Post reported. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam submitted National Guard requests. At least one of them was reportedly at the behest of Nancy Pelosi herself.
“Virginia sent in its Guard after Gov. Ralph Northam received a call from Pelosi asking for help,” the Washington Post reported. Governor Hogan was reportedly called by Steny Hoyer, who said he was in the room at the time with Pelosi. Hogan was likewise requested to send in National Guard troops.
High-ranking Republican subsequently questioned the knowledge of and actions of Pelosi in the Congress’s mishandling of preparation for the protests. The Republicans asked the following questions:
- When then-Chief Sund made a request for national guard support on January 4th, why was that request denied?
- Did Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving get permission or instruction from your staff on January 4th prior to denying Chief Sund’s request for the national guard?
- What conversations and what guidance did you and your staff give the Sergeant at Arms leading up to January 6th specific to the security posture of the campus?
- What conversations with the SAA and Capitol Police did you have during the attack on the Capitol and what response did you give security officials on January 6th when Chief Sund requested National Guard support that required your approval?
- Why are your House Officers refusing to comply with preservation and production requests to turn over materials relevant to the events surrounding the 6th?
As Americans begin to piece together what happened in the aftermath of the riots, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has serious questions to answer. And her 9/11-style “fact-finding” commission, announced shortly after getting hit with the GOP’s demands for answers, is a transparent deflection and a brazen attempt to control the narrative.
This affront to justice is further exposed by the “independent” commission being run by Pelosi’s hand-picked, blatant partisan named General Honoré. It only demonstrates inconclusively that she does not believe Americans can “handle the truth.”
NOW READ: EXCLUSIVE: Newly Uncovered Social Media Posts from Pelosi’s General Prove Anti-Trump Partisanship
This article contains editorial commentary.
"*" indicates required fields
OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author's opinion.