WASHINGTON, DC – In a move that Democrats described as an openly partisan effort to shift responsibility for the January 6 riot on US Capitol Hill from former President Donald Trump, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio and three other Republicans from the House of Representatives. USA on Monday questioned whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has any responsibility for the security breaches that allowed protesters to enter the building where the 2020 election votes were being counted.
Jordan, who is the main Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, joined the House Administration, Intelligence and Oversight and Reform committees in a letter asking why a request by the Capitol Police for National Guard support during the protest was denied several days before the raid where five people died. The letter also asked what security guidance was provided by Pelosi and his team.
Citing published reports that the Chamber’s Sergeant of Arms denied the National Guard’s request for support “because the ‘optics’ of having the National Guard in place was not good and intelligence did not support the movement,” Jordan’s letter suggested that this was done in The name of Pelosi – something that a spokesman for Pelosi said was not true. The letter also said that House officials appointed by Democrats did not provide the information that Republicans requested about the incident, so that they can “properly monitor the events of January 6”.
“Five weeks have passed since the January 6 attack on the Capitol building, and many important questions about his responsibility for Capitol security remain unanswered,” said the letter from the Champaign County Republican. “As you know, the Mayor is not only the leader of the majority party, but he also has enormous institutional responsibilities. The President is responsible for all operational decisions taken within the Chamber. “
Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, called the letter an effort to deflect responsibility for Trump’s mutiny. He noted that Jordan and another signatory to Monday’s letter “voted to overturn the results of a fair election, just hours after the Capitol was sacked by a rebel right-wing crowd”, when the two opposed accepting electoral votes from states contested by Trump. Hammill also questioned the four Republicans’ commitment to Capitol security, in light of their votes last month against Trump’s impeachment for his role in “inciting the crowd”. On Saturday, impeachment advocates failed to get the two-thirds majority vote they needed in the U.S. Senate to declare Trump guilty of inciting insurrection.
Hammill said Pelosi is taking steps to ensure accountability for the rebellion and increase Capitol security. Several security officers at the U.S. Capitol – House Sergeant Arms Paul Irving, Senate Arms Sergeant Michael Stenger and Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund – were removed from their posts after the incident. Hammill said Irving acknowledged that he had not asked House leaders for the presence of the National Guard before the riot.
Hammill said that when committees that oversee Capitol security were informed before the January 6 incident, Sund and Irving told them “the Capitol Complex had comprehensive security and there was no information that groups would become violent on Capitol Hill during electoral certification votes. ”After the insurrection, Hammill said that Pelosi asked retired general Russel L. Honoré to” lead an immediate security review of the US Capitol Complex and asked for a 9/11 type commission to investigate, with the introduction of legislation creating this panel in the coming days. The USCP is also conducting an internal security review. “
“With this transparently partisan attempt to blame the mayor, who was targeted for murder during the insurgency fueled by the lies of Republicans in the House, the ranking members are trying to absolve former police chief Sund, ex-sergeant Stenger and the leader who appointed him, Mitch McConnell, of any responsibility, ”said Hammill. “We hope these ranking members will ask the same questions as former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.”
When asked last week why the Capitol was not better prepared for potential violence on January 6 and why the National Guard was not called in advance, Pelosi said at a news conference that “interagency cooperation, or lack thereof” is being reviewed. She also suggested that it would be beneficial if the District of Columbia authorities could have the power to “call the National Guard, without obtaining permission from the federal government”, as state governors are allowed to do.
“Everything has to be subjected to the most severe review to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” continued Pelosi. “We couldn’t be in better hands than General Honoré, who has so much experience and so much respect in this regard.”
The Republican Party letter also blamed Pelosi for not consulting Republicans on his decision to fire Irving, demand Sund’s resignation and appoint Honoré to lead the security review.
“To the general’s credit, he reached out to several Republicans to report on his work so far,” the letter said. “We are hopeful that your review will result in beneficial recommendations that are not influenced by political motivations. However, 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. “
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