The Stark testimony from the head of the DC National Guard on Wednesday raised new questions about the Pentagon’s response as the rebels attacked the United States Capitol on January 6.
Here are five conclusions from Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate Rules and Homeland Security and Government Affairs committees.
Timeline delays come into focus
One of the biggest revelations of DC National Guard Commanding General William Walker’s testimony was exactly how long he said it took him to get approval to deploy on January 6, after receiving a “frantic” call from the then Capitol Police Chief, Steven Sund asking for help.
Walker said he obtained approval at 5:08 am – three hours and 19 minutes after Sund’s first call to him – contradicting Pentagon officials who have insisted they acted as quickly as possible.
“Chief Sund, his voice choked with emotion, indicated that there was a terrible emergency at the Capitol and requested the immediate help of as many guards as I could muster,” said Walker.
But when a call was called between Sund, Pentagon officials and other law enforcement officials and local DC officials to discuss the request, Walker said he was “surprised” by what he heard.
“Army leaders did not think it looked good, it would be a good point of view. They even claimed it could incite the crowd, ”said Walker, corroborating the testimony a week before Sund and DC’s acting chief of police Robert Contee.
Army Secretary of the time Ryan McCarthyRyan McCarthyOvernight Defense: Army details new hair and appearance patterns | DC National Guard Chief Says Pentagon Restricted Its Authority Before Rioting | Colorado asks Biden not to move Space Command The capitol police chief apologizes and admits departmental flaws in the turmoil The DC National Guard commander says the Pentagon restricted its authority before the turmoil MORE himself was not on the call, Walker said, adding that the concern about optics was expressed by the Army’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Walter Piatt and Lieutenant General Charles Flynn, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army and brother of ex-military security consultant Michael Flynn.
Robert Salesses, assistant secretary of defense for internal defense and global security, testified on Wednesday that then acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, told McCarthy that he approved the request at 4:32 pm.
But Salesses acknowledged that there was a half hour delay in relaying that approval to Walker.
“How is that possible,” senator. Roy Blunt
Roy Dean BluntPadilla has ‘big Chuck Taylors to fill’ in the replacement of Harris Partisan headwinds threaten the Capitol riot commission. Passing the John Lewis Advance Voting Rights Act is the first step in curing our democracy MORE (R-Mo.) He asked. “Did the person who had to be informed take more than half an hour after the decision was made? … It is a significant problem for the future. “
The delay, Walker said, could have changed the course of events at the Capitol.
“I believe that number could have made a difference,” said Walker of the 155 guards he had ready to send as soon as he obtained approval. “We could help extend the perimeter and help keep the crowd away.”
The National Guard was harmed before the attack
Walker said the decisions made in the days before the attack also hampered the response.
Specifically, Walker pointed to a January 5 “unusual” memo from McCarthy restricting his ability to deploy a so-called Rapid Reaction Force without McCarthy’s approval.
If it weren’t for that restriction, Walker said, he “would have sent them there immediately as soon as I hung up” from his connection with Sund.
The testimony is raising new questions about the numerous roadblocks faced by authorities when requesting guard assistance.
Walker also shed new light on Sund’s ability to request assistance from the National Guard in advance.
Walker said the two are friends and talked over the weekend before January 6.
“I asked him, ‘Are you going to ask for help from the DC National Guard? And if you do, I need it in writing. It has to be formal because the Secretary of Defense has to approve it. ‘He told me he was not allowed to ask for support and I asked him if he wanted me to share this and he said,’ No, I can’t even ask for the score. ‘ That’s what he told me, ”said Walker.
Summer protests increased
Walker told the committees, “It was never really explained to me” why the restrictions were imposed on him. But he drew a sharp contrast between January 6 and the response to racial justice protests over the summer.
Questioned by the chairman of the internal security committee Gary Peters
Gary PetersDeJoy scheduled for questioning by the House supervisory panel Police officers deflect blame for the Capitol attack Police present evidence The Capitol riot was a “coordinated” attack MORE (D-Mich.) If he obtained immediate approval from McCarthy and Miller to send guards in June, Walker replied, “yes”. Pressed by Peters on whether he obtained immediate approval to deploy on January 6, Walker replied, “no”.
Walker also told senators that McCarthy was at his side during the events of the summer, allowing for quick action, but not on January 6.
Salesses also suggested a connection between the January 6 response and criticism of the response to the racial justice protests, telling Sen. Rob Portman
Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanOn The Money: Tanden withdraws appointment as head of budget for Biden | Relief project tests narrow Democratic majority | Senate confirms Biden’s choices for Commerce, WH lead economist for Republican candidate for Ohio Senate asks Republican Party representative to step down because of impeachment vote shows Sunday – Trump resurgence, COVID-19 vaccines and variants dominate MORE (R-Ohio) there were “many things that happened in the spring for which the department was criticized”.
There is pressure for DOD’s testimony
Miller and McCarthy were not at Wednesday’s hearing, but lawmakers seem to want to hear from them.
Salesses responded to the senators where he could, but was not involved in some of the key decision-making moments on January 6, such as the call in which Walker said Army officials expressed concern about the optics.
“I’m disappointed that we don’t have someone [the Department of Defense] DOD that was really there at the time. I think you are being put in a difficult position, Mr. Salesses, ”said Portman.
Blunt, the senior member of the Rules Committee, said that senators “certainly” have questions for Miller and McCarthy, but said he was not sure what shape this would take.
“Whether this will require testimony or not, I don’t know, but it will definitely require an opportunity to ask questions about your view of your perspective on why this decision-making process went so terribly wrong,” said Blunt.
Miller, for his part, had already shown enthusiasm in witnessing.
“I have to tell you, I can’t wait to go to Hill and have these conversations with senators and deputies,” Miller told Vanity Fair in January, adding that the criticisms the Pentagon dragged on during the attack are “complete nonsense.”
Senior FBI officials were unaware of the warnings
A January 5 report from the FBI office in Norfolk, Virginia, which detailed specific calls for violence on January 6, including those suggesting that protesters go to the Capitol “ready for war”, reached few important hands.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Tuesday that he had not received the report before the incident, something that FBI Counter-Terrorism Associate Director Jill Sanborn also repeated.
Both Sund and his replacement Yogananda Pittman also said the report was never released.
“In fact, we did not receive this information until the late afternoon of the fifth and almost into the night. And, because of our emphasis on, we need any intelligence, even if it is crude, attributed and disregarded, the Norfolk office quickly wrote this, ”said Sanborn.
But the agency remains under pressure for not doing more to communicate what it heard.
“I don’t know if someone picked up the phone and called a person in charge and said, ‘This is a problem,'” Senator. Tom Carper
Thomas (Tom) Richard CarperTexas snowstorm wreaks havoc on the state power grid The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by TikTok – Dems end their case; Trump verdict this weekend No sign of demand for witnesses at Trump’s trial MORE (D-Del.) He said.