A shadow committee of House Republicans released their own Jan. 6th report Wednesday, and according to this report, it seems House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bears at least some responsibility for the failed police response to the Jan. 6th riot.
Why? Because she’d been heavily involved in crafting that day’s security policy.
“The Speaker of the House and Democrat leadership were closely involved in security decisions in the lead up to and on January 6, 2021,” the report bluntly states.
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION:
Security Failures at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 https://t.co/Ce0e7UfXba— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) December 21, 2022
Indeed, documents and texts reviewed by congressional Republicans demonstrate how then-House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving had “carried out his duties in clear deference to the Speaker, her staff, and other Democratic staff.”
Both before and after the Jan. 6th riot. Pelosi’s own actions prove it.
“Speaker Pelosi exercised her authority with respect to the safety and security of the House of Representatives when she directed the use of magnetometers outside the House chamber in the name of safety. She announced the use of punitive fines for Members who refused to go through the metal detectors. Similarly, she required masks in the House chamber and around the House Office Buildings,” the report notes.
“The Speaker also exerted influence on security protocols at the Capitol related to the perimeter fence. Following January 6, 2021, the fence was quickly erected and remained up until July of that year when Congressional leaders started getting pressure to take it down. She also oversaw the fencing that was erected for a purported rally on September 18, 2021, that never materialized, and the State of the Union in March 2022.”
These findings directly contradict Pelosi’s claim made in February of 2021 that she had “no power” over how the Capitol Police functions.
Pelosi responds to @RepTroyNehls accusation that Capitol Police are investigating him because he has been a vocal critic of her. “I have no power over the Capitol Police.”
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) February 9, 2022
If anything, it was Republicans who had “no power” over the Capitol Police.
“Irving — who served on the Capitol Police Board by virtue of his position — succumbed to political pressures from the Office of Speaker Pelosi and House Democrat leadership leading up to January 6, 2021. He coordinated closely with the Speaker and her staff and left Republicans out of important discussions related to security,” the report notes.
The important decisions were left to Pelosi and crew, and unfortunately, their primary focus prior to the Jan. 6th riot had been optics.
“Concerns about the optics of military personnel close to the Capitol were shared by Democratic staff in the House of Representatives,” the report notes.
“USCP officers expressed various concerns related to the use of force at the Capitol, including ‘a concern with optics by leadership’ and ‘several respondents stated that the concern with optics was related to leadership’s perception of the desires of Members of Congress,'” the report reads, quoting from another report.
For instance, a number of officers were reportedly deployed on Jan. 6th without their standard equipment. Why? Because of optics.
It’s finally come out that Nancy Pelosi specifically directed National Guard to stay off Capitol grounds on January 6th because of ‘optics’
Pelosi was more concerned about optics than the safety of her colleagues and the American people.
— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) February 27, 2021
When one officer was caught wearing his helmet and wielding a baton, he was actually chastised for it and ordered to remove both because it wasn’t “the image we want to portray,” as said by the officer’s commanding captain.
“The documents and communications show concerns about the public perception of military personnel at the Capitol and how the use of force by officers against violent protestors were well known among Irving, Democratic leadership, and USCP leadership,” the GOP report reads.
“Those concerns diminished the capacity of USCP officers to effectively defend the Capitol and prevented the D.C. National Guard from responding to the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” it continues.
Here’s the icing on the cake. After the Jan. 6th riot, Pelosi forced Irving to resign. Following his resignation, a staffer in the House sergeant at arms office sent an angry email to Irving suggesting Pelosi had made him the fall guy for her own errors.
“For the Speaker’s knee-jerk reaction to yesterday’s unprecedented event (and God knows how Congress lives for its knee-jerk reactions and to hell with future consequences . . . ). to immediately call for your resignation . . . after you have been denied again and again by Appropriations for proper security outfitting of the Capitol (and I WROTE several of those testimonies, dangit),” the email reads.
“. . . and to blame you personally because our department was doing the best they could with what they had and our comparatively small department size and limited officer resources . . . and because other agencies stepped in to assist just a fraction too late . . . again, for Congress to demand your resignation is spectacularly unjust, unfair, and unwarranted.”
Who was ultimately in charge of appropriations? Nancy Pelosi …
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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