Senate Requests Intel on Capitol Attack
Mourners pay their respects during a ceremony memorializing U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, as an urn with his cremated remains lies in honor on a black-draped table at the center of the Capitol Rotunda Feb. 3. Kevin Dietsch/AP
By
Frank Konkel
The lawmakers want timelines and operational details from 22 government agencies and offices leading up to the Jan. 6 breach of the building.
Bipartisan Senate committee leaders Monday want 22 agencies or offices with security planning and response roles to provide detailed timelines and documents related to the breach of the Capitol building Jan. 6.
In a letter, the senators are seeking all data regarding intelligence gathering on potential violence prior to the attack, security preparations and explanations of each agency’s security response by Feb. 19. The letter went to the leaders of Congressional and DC offices, law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, U.S. Marshalls, and U.S. Park Police, as well as federal agencies, including the Homeland Security, Defense and Interior departments and specific components.
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, leaders of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., leaders of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration; Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, leaders of the Judiciary Committee; Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., leaders of the Select Committee on Intelligence; Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Richard Shelby R-Ala., leaders of the Appropriations Committee; and Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., leaders of the Armed Services Committee, signed the letter.
“The January 6, 2021 attack on our Capitol, one of the great symbols of American democracy, will forever be a stain on our Nation’s history. The attackers failed to disrupt the work of Congress, due in large part to the heroic acts of many officers and congressional staff,” the senators wrote. “Nevertheless, the security failures that led to the breach endangered not just the Vice President and the Congress, but the peaceful, democratic transfer of power itself. The American people deserve a complete accounting of those failures.”
In addition, the letter seeks immediate briefings from law enforcement personnel with relevant committees, as well as “all responsive classified documents and information” relevant to the Senate investigation. The senators pose a slew of social media-related questions, including whether agencies monitor and track demonstration activity on “open source, public or private social media platforms.” The letter also requests communication from agencies to social media platforms regarding the Jan. 6 events.