House lawmakers this week will hear from whistleblowers who say they have information about why the National Guard’s response to the Capitol riot was severely delayed.
The Committee on House Administration’s oversight panel will conduct a hearing Wednesday called “Three Years Later: D.C. National Guard Whistleblowers Speak Out on January 6 Delay.”
The whistleblowers also are expected to provide details about then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy’s role in the response.
The names of the whistleblowers were not announced.
Last month, the subcommittee released never-before-seen interview transcripts from the now-defunct House Jan. 6 Select Committee. The oversight panel says the Democrat-run select committee suppressed testimony about then-President Trump pushing for National Guard troops to protect the Capitol.
The transcripts revealed former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato telling the Jan. 6 committee that Mr. Trump wanted 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021, but D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser rejected the help.
The interview also recounts frustration within the Trump White House over the slow deployment of National Guard troops.
“The former J6 Select Committee apparently withheld Mr. Ornato’s critical witness testimony from the American people because it contradicted their pre-determined narrative,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk, the Georgia Republican who chairs the oversight subcommittee.
“Mr. Ornato’s testimony proves what [White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows] has said all along, President Trump did in fact offer 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol, which was turned down,” Mr. Loudermilk said.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chaired the Jan. 6 select committee, said the criticism of the committee was “dishonest.”
“The Select Committee’s final report took into account the testimony of all witnesses, including the transcript that was released today,” he said. “All the evidence points to the same conclusion: Donald Trump wanted to join his violent mob as it marched on the Capitol, and he was irate when his security detail told him he couldn’t go.”
Mr. Thompson said his committee was obligated to send transcripts such as the interview of Mr. Ornato to the executive branch for review and the information Mr. Ornato provided was already well known.
“The Select Committee was obligated to take these steps in order to protect sensitive information as well as the privacy of witnesses,” Mr. Thompson said.
According to the transcript, Mr. Ornato said he remembered a conversation between Mr. Meadows and Ms. Bowser about deploying the National Guard.
“He was on the phone with her and wanted to make sure she had everything that she needed,” he said. “I remember the number 10,000 coming up, you know, ’The president wants to make sure that you have enough.’ You know, ’He is willing to ask for 10,000.’”
Mr. Ornato said that Ms. Bowser replied that she was all set and already had about 350 guardsmen for intersection control, which is not a law enforcement capacity.
Ms. Bowser ultimately rejected Mr. Trump’s offer for 10,000 National Guard troops and asked for only several hundred to serve in a limited role.
Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund testified before the House administration subcommittee in September that at the time of the attack, he learned that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi never wanted the National Guard deployed.
According to Mr. Sund, on Jan. 3, 2021, he talked to House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving and Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger about calling in the National Guard.
He said he was told by Mr. Stenger that he should ask Maj. Gen. William Walker, who was the commander of the D.C. National Guard, how quickly his troops could deploy to the Capitol Complex if necessary.
Mr. Sund said at the hearing that four months after the riot, Mr. Stenger told him Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, did not want the guard on Capitol grounds that day.
Mr. Sund resigned on Jan. 16, 2021, after Mrs. Pelosi called for him to step down from his post and blamed him for not securing the Capitol.
He maintains that he called the National Guard six times over three days before the attack, but National Guard troops didn’t deploy.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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