Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
Representatives in the House are clashing over a lack of transparency about documents pertaining to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riots, according to Just The News. While documents about the event have been in the news constantly for months, the primary coverage has been about the mostly Democratic Jan. 6 committee asking for details from those associated with the Trump administration.
Recently, however, a top Republican on the House committee that oversees the U.S. Capitol security has taken House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to task for withholding evidence that would show the security planning that took place before the Jan. 6 demonstrations that devolved into riots.
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) said during a recent interview that he believes the police force on Capitol Hill might not have made substantial changes since the riots, and it could be a problem going forward:
“We know there were intelligence analysis failures at the Capitol Police,” Davis told the John Solomon Reports podcast during an interview Thursday on the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riots. “And frankly, John, I don’t think those have been corrected yet,” he went on. “Our job is to protect the Capitol, and they’re making the same bad decisions.”
Capitol Police claim to have implemented a number of changes since this time last year, which are particularly scrutinized considering the plethora of reports that indicate Capitol Police were complicit in allowing demonstrators to enter both Capitol grounds and the actual Capitol building.
On Jan. 8, just two days after the demonstrations took place, The Federalist published a report, including video evidence of police officers at the Capitol Building opening doors and lining the hallways as demonstrators filed in. They instructed the attendees that they could “disagree” but still should “respect” where they were and what was taking place.
One person near the camera was so taken aback by the clear indication that they should enter the building that they questioned whether the police officers were going to “lock us in” after they entered the building.
(WARNING: The following video contains strong language.)
Capitol police open doors for the protestors. They stand aside and invite them inside. pic.twitter.com/OnSd3KGzz5
— Christina Bobb (@christina_bobb) January 8, 2021
Clashes with police did, however, take place at various entrances to the building, and violence eventually reached a fever pitch, resulting in multiple deaths. There have since been numerous calls for reform. However, the lawmakers most concerned about the reforms appear to be unable to ascertain whether those reforms are sufficient to keep another event from taking place.
Additionally, they have requested details about the orders given before last January’s riots, including a request made by former Capitol Police chief, Steven Sund, who has said that he requested backup from the National Guard ahead of the event and was rejected because of “optics,” despite the Trump administration’s offer to activate the Guard days before the riot.
“They will not comply and give that info to us,” Davis told Just the News. “At a time when the Speaker through this sham Select Committee is asking and getting voluntarily thousands of communications from people who are no longer employed by government, she is denying that committee of jurisdiction access to government communications. What is she hiding?
“All we ever asked for is we want communications leading up to and on Jan. 6, we want to be preserved, we want to be turned over to us, because my job – my job is to make sure that the Capitol is secure. And it’s laughable to think that that’s not germane to making sure that we don’t make those same mistakes again.”
Davis isn’t deterred, however, saying that he will get the documents and that his best chance may come if Republicans take the House in November of this year
“I fully expect to be chairman when we take the majority. And I guarantee you, we will get these communications,” he said. “But by then, it’s two years past the time when the American people should have seen what did, or in many cases, did not happen to prepare our cops and our security apparatus prior to January 6.”