In the final report of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, it claimed that it found no evidence supporting the idea that former President Donald Trump ordered 10,000 troops to be ready for Jan. 6, 2021. However, a previously hidden transcript has surfaced of an interview conducted by the U.S. House of Representatives panel that researched the breach of the U.S. Capitol that directly undermines the committee's claim.
White House deputy chief of staff (during the breach) Anthony Ornato told the committee that he overheard then chief of staff Mark Meadows on the phone with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser. According to the transcript, Meadows wanted to ensure the mayor "had everything she needed."
According to the testimony, Meadows "wanted to know if she needed any more guardsmen." And I remember the number 10,000 coming up of, "The president wants to make sure that you have enough.' You know, 'He is willing to ask for 10,000.' I remember that number. Now that you said it, it reminded me of it." Bowser said "She was all set," Ornato recalled.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who released the transcript, said that the former J6 Select Committee withheld Ornato's critical witness testimony from the American people because it contradicted their pre-determined narrative. "Ornato's testimony proves what Meadows has said all along; President Trump did offer 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol, which was turned down," Loudermilk, who is the chairman of the House Administration Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight, further stated.
Trump, meanwhile, confirmed the direct order on Fox News. He said he definitely gave the number of 10,000 National Guardsmen and said "I think you should have 10,000 of the National Guard ready." Christopher C. Miller, former acting secretary of defense, in a meeting on Jan. 5, 2021, told Trump that the Department of Defense was going to provide any number of Guard personnel that Washington officials requested. Trump reportedly replied: "You're going to need 10,000 people." But Miller told the select committee that he "never … knew of any plans of that nature." "There was no direct, there was no order from the president," he later added.
On Jan. 6, 2021, around 1:30 p.m., Bowser asked for more force after demonstrators began moving to the Capitol. Miller later approved the activation of 1,100 more personnel to help Washington's officers. The U.S. Capitol Police, meanwhile, said in the days leading up to the breach that it did not want Pentagon support, but on the day of the breach asked for help and received 150 personnel.
Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has said he spoke about asking for Guard assistance ahead of Jan. 6 but that former House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving turned down the plan. Irving "stated that he was concerned about the 'optics' of having National Guard present and didn't feel that the intelligence supported it," Sund said at a Senate hearing. "That is categorically false," Irving said. "Optics … did not determine our security posture."
The House select committee was disbanded in early 2023 when Republicans started to gain control of the House. The committee had only two GOP members, both of whom were appointed by the Democrat former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Trump to pardon J6 defendants on the first day of his reelection
The controversial J6 Capitol attack has sent nearly 500 people to incarceration and prosecutors have secured more than 950 convictions. Trump vowed that one of his first acts as president if he wins in November would be to "free" those charged and convicted of crimes related to the said uprising. "My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
Meanwhile, Sarafina Chitika, a spokesperson for President Joe Biden's campaign, said that the former president "has shown he'll do whatever it takes to hold on to power, including excusing and encouraging political violence." "The American people haven’t forgotten the violent attack at our Capitol on January 6 – they know Trump is too dangerous to be let anywhere near the Oval Office again and they'll turn out to protect our democracy and keep Trump out of the White House this November," Chitika said.
Trump has repeatedly called on Biden to "release" the Jan. 6 defendants and has suggested he would be likely to pardon a large number of them if he is elected in November. He also regularly characterizes the defendants as "hostages," which the White House has deemed "grotesque." (Related: TYRANNY: U.S. district attorney wants to prosecute Americans who stood on Capitol public lawn during J6, accusing them of "federal crime" for merely being present.)
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