WASHINGTON – House Republicans are demanding answers from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about security decisions made before the January 6 Capitol riot and about her cabinet’s involvement, according to a new report.
In a letter on Monday, the House’s top Republicans, including Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a member of the Intelligence Committee Classification Committee and Devin Nunes (R-California), also accused Pelosi (D-Calif.) To block your requests for information in security breaches.
“As you know, the mayor is not only the leader of the majority party, but he also has enormous institutional responsibilities,” wrote the police in the letter obtained by Fox News.
“The President is responsible for all operational decisions taken within the Chamber.”
In the letter, Republican lawmakers said they saw a “very strict and tightly controlled approach to House operations” from Pelosi’s office and demanded to know why requests for the National Guard to be sent out before the insurrection were rejected.
The Capitol Police was outnumbered by supporters of then President Donald Trump, who invaded Congress on January 6 and came dangerously close to lawmakers huddled inside.
Republicans noted that Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund approached arms sergeant Paul Irving on January 4 to request support from the National Guard, but his request was denied.
“When then-chief Sund made a request for support to the national guard on January 4, why was that request denied?” Republicans wrote, according to the Fox News report.
“Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving obtained permission or instruction from his team on January 4 before denying Chief Sund’s request to the national guard?”
Pelosi’s office said on Monday that Irving had not submitted a National Guard request to them before the day of the siege.
Sund and Irving resigned under strong pressure from Pelosi – a decision that also angered high-ranking Republicans.
They also expressed concern about the speaker’s unilateral decision to nominate four-star Army general Russel Honoré to complete a security review.
“While there is widespread support for an independent campus security review, General Russel Honoré was appointed exclusively by you, without consulting the minority,” wrote the Republicans.
“It is easy to understand why we and our Senate counterparts remain skeptical that any of their final recommendations are independent and without their influence,” they added.
Pelosi is also under attack with the decision to keep National Guard troops in the country’s capital until mid-March.
More than 5,000 soldiers will remain in DC after 26,000 of the National Guard were deployed before President Biden took office at a cost of $ 500 million.
Sought to comment by the Post, Pelosi’s office said that senior Republicans were “trying to shift responsibility for the attack on Donald Trump’s Capitol” and that his letter is an “transparently partisan attempt to place the blame on the spokesman” .
“The Jurisdiction Committees were informed in advance on January 6 about the preparation for security. During a briefing by the majority of the Staffing Committee on January 5 by Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving and US Capitol Chief of Police Sund, both Chief Sund and Mr. Irving provided assurances that the Capitol Complex had comprehensive security and there was no intelligence that groups would become violent on Capitol Hill during the certification of electoral votes. It is our understanding that Member Rank Davis was also informed, but did not take any action to address any security concerns he might have, ”the statement continued.
“As the target of an assassination attempt, the Mayor knows very well the importance of security on the Capitol and is focused on getting to the bottom of all the issues facing the Capitol Complex and the events that led to the insurrection. Clearly, these Republican ranking members don’t share that priority. “