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“Based on this information,” she added, it is “prudent that the Capitol Police maintain their enhanced security position until we address these issues in the future”.
Pittman said existing intelligence pointed out that the insurgents who stormed the Capitol “weren’t just interested in attacking members and officers. They wanted to send a symbolic message to the nation about who was in charge. of this legislative process. “
While authorities are aware of the future attacks discussed by the militia groups that attacked the Capitol on January 6, it is unclear to what extent intelligence on these plans could be developed or serious. President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress is only expected to be scheduled after his pandemic relief program has been approved.
Pittman, who regained strength after his predecessor’s resignation, raised the issue after being pressed by several lawmakers on when fencing, barbed wire and National Guard units would be removed from the Capitol Hill security position . Representative Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) Said the enhanced measures “make the seat of democracy look like a military base”.
The discussion came after Pittman also added new elements to the timeline of failures during the insurgency that complicated the version of events told by Capitol Hill security officials who resigned in the wake of the insurgency. Pittman said she removed former Chief Steven Sund’s phone records and confirmed he contacted House and Senate sergeants-at-arms at 12:58 p.m. and 1:05 p.m., respectively. Sund told lawmakers he first contacted at 1:09 p.m. – a timeline that a former sergeant-at-arms challenged during Senate testimony this week.
Pittman’s disclosure, made during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing Thursday on the security fallout from last month’s riot, upsets the timeline that Sund and other former senior Capitol security officials have provided senators about security gaps. And it adds a new layer of confusion over how the communication crashes happened when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol.
Former Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving told senators he did not hear from Sund until 1:28 p.m. and no formal request for National Guard assistance was made until 2 p.m. Pittman’s testimony appears to confirm the story shared by Sund, who resigned shortly after violent insurgents threatened the presidential transfer of power.
This discrepancy between the memories of former officials responsible for their response is a determining and early element in the investigation into the handling of the insurgency. And Sund’s memory seemed suspicious, as the video of Irving on the Chamber floor at 1:09 p.m. seemed to confirm his account. But Pittman’s revelation suggests that Sund may have contacted Irving 11 minutes earlier than expected – and his Irving Senate counterpart, Michael Stenger, minutes later.
Senators have requested telephone tapes from officials to clarify this aspect of the schedule.
On Thursday, Pittman and Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Timothy Blodgett echoed a refrain put forward by other former officials to Senators: that the January 6 security failures were the result of insufficient intelligence provided by the FBI, security domestic and other agencies. as opposed to misreading the available information.
Lawmakers on the panel made it clear that they were still furious at the apparent inability of the Capitol Police to fully protect Congress. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), chairman of the credits subcommittee, said he was incredulous that the agency was “so insufficient and ill-prepared” for the violence that unfolded that day, especially when many insurgents have detailed their plans prominently on social media.
Ryan also noted that intelligence security officials had, despite being limited, still reported a risk of significant violence on January 6. A last-minute request from Sund for more helmets highlighted that he anticipated danger to officers, Ryan noted.
“For my part, I am unable to understand how your intelligence report – and later as the mob marched 16 blocks, growing in size and aggressive behavior – did not impact the position. Capitol Police Security, ”Ryan said.
Beutler insisted on Pittman and Blodgett as to why House members were left stranded on House floors even as the Senate was evacuated.
House Appropriations Committee chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) Said her view was that the Capitol Police Council – the four-member entity that oversees the daily security of the Capitol and includes the leader, the sergeants-at-arms and the architect of the Capitol – failed on January 6 and was found to be obsolete.
“It’s like your appendix. It’s right there. It has no real function, ”DeLauro said.
DeLauro also pressed Pittman for an update on investigations of 35 officers for alleged misconduct on January 6. Pittman said they are still ongoing, although they typically last 60 to 90 days. Pittman is also committed to reporting results once they have been achieved.
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