Thread by @weareoversight

Today, two Senate committees are investigating security failures before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The public deserves answers about what went wrong — including the lengthy delay in deploying the National Guard.
washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

The security failures are important, but Jan. 6 was more than a miscommunication about security; it was a planned and coordinated attack aimed at overturning an election.

Those responsible for planning and instigating it need to be held accountable.

This also wasn’t the first time in recent years that violent extremists sought to disrupt the democratic process, and the threat is far from over.

We’re committed to investigating and exposing the politicians who support using violent extremist means to undermine our democracy. Here are a few ways we’re investigating:

First, we’re investigating government officials who reportedly participated in the Jan. 6 rally and subsequent mob attack. The public deserves answers about their support for what amounted to a seditious attempt to overthrow the U.S. government.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

Next, we’re investigating robocalls urging people to attend the Jan. 6 “March to Save America,” sent by the Republican Attorneys General Association’s fundraising arm, the Rule of Law Defense Fund.

We’re filing open records requests in multiple states to learn who knew about the calls or about the groups’ support for what would turn out to be a deadly and seditious attack.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

We’re also investigating the Texas AG Paxton’s failed legal challenge to invalidate results from battleground states won by Pres. Biden. The suit was quickly thrown out by the Supreme Court, but not before it drew support from the AGs of 17 other states.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

The mob attack was a direct result of former Pres. Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election, but he didn’t act alone. We’re working to shed light on ways officials abetted his efforts by promoting baseless claims of voter fraud.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…

Update: The head of the DC National Guard told Congress today that "unusual" restrictions placed on him by senior officials in the Trump Defense Department prevented a faster response when the pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol building on Jan. 6. washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

In today's hearing, Walker testified that he had been required to seek authorization from the Trump-appointed secretary of the Army and secretary of defense to take action to respond to the mob — authorization that was delayed for more than three hours. washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

Walker also discussed a phone call that took place on Jan 6., as the mob attack unfolded, in which "top Pentagon officials expressed reluctance to deploy the National Guard."

We have multiple outstanding FOIA requests seeking records of that phone call. americanoversight.org/document/foia-…

And moments ago, the U.S. House moved to cancel votes tomorrow — March 4 — because of a renewed threat of domestic extremist violence from supporters of the former president.
axios.com/fbi-homeland-s…

It's important to understand what went wrong on Jan. 6, but the threat we saw that day hasn't gone away.

We're continuing to investigate and expose politicians at all levels who promote violence and attacks on democracy. Track our investigations here: americanoversight.org/areas_of_inves…