WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Representatives Jim Banks, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan, Troy Nehls, Kelly Armstrong and House Administration Committee Ranking Member Rodney Davis released a report on their investigation into the security failure at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.   

Read the FULL report here.

In July 2021, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy selected the five Republican members to serve on the January 6 Select Committee. Speaker Pelosi then blocked minority representation from the Select Committee for the first time in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Said the GOP’s January 6 Select Committee appointees: “When Speaker Pelosi made the unprecedented decision to reject Jim Banks and Jim Jordan from sitting on the January 6 Select Committee – we knew she intended to play politics instead of addressing the massive security failures that lead to that day. We said then that we would investigate and get to the bottom of why the Capitol was left so unprepared that day, and what needs to be done to make sure our security apparatus is never left so unprepared again. Unsurprisingly, the Select Committee appears to have spent almost no time on this issue. We release the following report to answer these questions, and to lay a groundwork for security reforms as we prepare to lead a safer and more secure Campus in the 118th Congress and beyond.”

 Key Findings: 

1.       The Speaker of the House and Democrat leadership were closely involved in security decisions in the lead up to and on January 6, 2021.

2.       The House Sergeant at Arms took direction from staff in the Office of the Speaker and intentionally excluded Republicans from key meetings and conversations related to House security.

3.       Widespread concern from Democrat leadership over “optics” in the aftermath of summer 2020 “Black Lives Matter” protests prevented early deployment of the National Guard

4.       The Leadership of the Intelligence and Interagency Coordination Division overhauled the division in the weeks before January 6, 2021 and created new processes for obtaining and assessing intelligence data. Those changes caused confusion and rendered a key USCP component ineffective during a critical period.

5.       The leadership of the Intelligence and Interagency Coordination Division retaliated against subordinates who spoke out about the division’s shortcomings.

6.       The House Sergeant at Arms was compromised by politics in the lead up to and on January 6, 2021 and did not adequately prepare the Capitol for possible violence.

7.       The U.S. Capitol Police leadership did not give officers the appropriate training necessary to prepare them to protect the Capitol from violence.

8.       The U.S. Capitol Police does not have the equipment necessary to protect its officers.

9.       The command-and-control structure of the U.S. Capitol Police and the Capitol Police Board contributed to unnecessary delays in decision-making on January 6, 2021.

10.    U.S. Capitol Police leadership has still not implemented important recommendations issued by oversight bodies. 

Security of the Capitol of the free world should never be left to partisan political operatives. The Speaker’s failure to separate her obligations as the highest-ranking constitutional officer for Article I from her political prerogatives contributed directly to the failures of that day.

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