Thread by @BBuchman_CNS

Oversight hearings on the 1/6 attack coming up this week. On Tues., House Oversight meets w/FBI dir. Wray, Charles Flynn - brother of Mike Flynn & commanding gen of US Army Pacific - and Walter Piatt, dir. of the Army. They'll face Qs on delays around Nat'l Guard during attack.

My recent story on the bipartisan Senate committees report that assessed security failures of 1/6: courthousenews.com/vast-intellige…

Related content: courthousenews.com/experts-warn-c…

Also happening this week, US Capitol Police inspector general Michael Bolton returns to Congress to continue his assessment of 1/6 security and intel failures. Bolton will be in the House on Tues and in the Senate on Wednesday. From his last appearance:
courthousenews.com/u-s-capitol-po…

Catch a link to the stream for Tuesday's hearing with @OversightDems here:

Today's House Oversight Cmte hearing on the 1/6 attack and delays, specifically around the dispatch of the National Guard, gets underway soon. Live-tweet thread will start here. Witness list below:
@CourthouseNews

@CourthouseNews The hearing has finally begun after a 30-minute delay.

@CourthouseNews Maloney: When Trump's efforts to pressure the DOJ failed, so on 1/6 he sent an angry violent mob to the Capitol. The goal was to use violence to stop Congress from certifying the election. He was attempting to instigate a coup

@CourthouseNews Maloney is recapping the events of 1/6; the lives put at risk, the damage done, the courage exhibited by police were mercilessly beaten and brutalized by the former president's supporters and other extremists

Maloney: I am very disappointed that acting USCP chief of police Yogananda Pitman has declined to appear today but she will appear on July 21.

Maloney: In the weeks before 1/6, online forums had erupted with info about people planning an assault. The FBI did not pass on key intel to leaders of US Cap Police. 5 months later, we still don't have the full story on the failures of that day.

Maloney: The attack as an insurrection. It was not a peaceful protest. It was not a normal tourist visit. It was an insurrection. You don't have to take my word for it. The top GOPers in Congress, both McConnell and McCarthy both acknowledged the events were "an insurrection."

ICYMI: courthousenews.com/emails-show-tr…

We are watching video footage of the attack on the Capitol. For those people saying to themselves: do we need to see this again? I don't know, but maybe if we had a commission established a few months ago...

GOP ranking member of House Oversight Cmte @JamesComer says today's hearing is "part of a pattern by Democrats to hold unproductive partisan hearings to advance a political narrative" rather than make the gov't "transparent or accountable" to the American people.

@JamesComer Comer says FBI dir. Wray cannot talk about ongoing investigations or ongoing matters, so this hearing on delays around 1/6 response is overtly political. And Wray will only add "political aura"

Witnesses today are delivering their testimony under oath.

Jan. 6 was not an isolated event, domestic terrorism has been and continues to be a top concern for the FBI. Over last 3 years, they've doubled investigations and arrests into racially and ethnically motivated extremists

RELATED to much being discussed at today's hearing.
My story with @KailaPhilo here:
The White House released a first-of-its-kind national strategy to combat domestic terrorism on Tuesday, the culmination of a 100-day review.
courthousenews.com/biden-says-fig…

@KailaPhilo Lieutenant General Walter Piatt, director of the Army Staff, says the change in mission on 1/6 was not foreseen and they were not in position to respond with immediate support.

Piatt says on a conference call with Army Secy McCarthy on 1/6 that he was not denying a request for help but needed approval. He communicated this to Charles Flynn: they needed to redeploy the NG, alert and recall soldiers, establish routes, causality evac, rules of use of force

Commanding General for the U.S. Army Pacific Charles Flynn begins his remarks now. He served as deputy chief of staff, basically the chief operating officer for the Army's ops/planning and strategy during 1/6. He says he was shocked and angered at events of 1.6

Flynn says he was alerted at 2:21 that the Capitol was under attack and he'd been asked to Secy McCarthy's office. Flynn said he saw him walking out, already on his way to meet with acting Defense Secy Miller.

He said he saw Piatt at the rear of the room, standing over a speaker phone, the only person in the office speaking on the call. Flynn said he heard someone ask "Are you denying our request" Piatt responded "I' not denying I'm waiting for an answer from McCarthy.. in the meantime

Piatt continued, "We should develop a plan."
Seconds later, a second person over the phone asked "And to be clear are you denying our request for NG forces to be used?
Piatt's response then was similar to the first time

Flynn says he knew the gravity of the situation in this moment. Both speakers sounded highly agitated and even panicked.
He recognized Piatt's calm demeanor, a combat experience leader reacting to an otherwise violent and unpredictable event.

Then Flynn says he realized he needed to initiate efforts with Army. He was in the room for four minutes,Flynn says, and began communicating with Army commands so they could execute any decisions made by Miller and McCarthy.

Maloney says to FBI dir. Wray - you said you knew about online intel but didn't know people were going to storm the capitol, specifically. Maloney rebuffs this, says, there was info on radio, tv, social media streams. The system was blinking red. Parler sent the FBI evidence.

Parler shared info with the FBI over *50 times*

Maloney to FBI dir Wray: Did you know about this email from Parler before 1/6
Wray: I was not aware of this particular email before Jan. 6.
He says he was not aware Parler tried to contact his office before attack.

Wray's understanding was that the Parler warning went to a field office.
And before the attack, Wray says, they sent up a dozen intel bulletins raising awareness about domestic violent extremism et al.
Maloney asks. but does Wray agree FBI failed on 1/6?

Wray: The best way for me to answer that question is: our goal is to bat 1000 and anytime there is an attack, much less an attack that was as horrific or spectacular as Jan 6, we consider that to be unacceptable and we're doing our part to make sure it never happens again.

Will Wray provide an assessment to the cmte about what the FBI did right or wrong?
Wray: Absolutely. There's no problem with us trying to give you more information about changes we are making, about improvements or enhancements we're making to ensure this doesn't happen again

Wray underlines that delays right now from FBI on assessments is difficult because of ongoing cases involving some 480+ defendants charged with various roles in the attack

USCP police chief Yogananda Pitmann was invited to attend today's hearing but she declined. There's a hearing happening elsewhere in Congress today with USCP IG Michael Bolton and she is watching that. (@JackRodgersCNS will have the story on that)

@JackRodgersCNS Rep Virginia Foxx,R -NC: If someone is charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, are they likely also to be charged with incitement, yes or no?
Wray says I can't give a yes or no because it depends on the circumstances.

Rep Foxx, R-NC: If individuals are charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, is it likely that an outside individual would be charged with incitement of their crimes?
Wray says, since becoming FBI director he's hung up his lawyer hat and doesn't answer.

Foxx to Piatt: You aren't familiar with the structure of the USCP, so you aren't responsible for any break downs in communication of USCP on Jan 6?

So, it would seem at today's hearing this is the theme for GOP lawmakers: Focus on USCP and lack of confidence in USCP.

Foxx says Democrats don't want answers about failures of 1/6 because they didn't invite USCP acting chief Pitman.
They did. She's coming later.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton says if the national guard would have come faster, maybe lives may have been spared on 1/6. She is the leader of DC statehood leg, and she illustrates how a lack of statehood hindered response.

The DC national guard reports to Secy of national army who reports to the Secy of defense who then reports the commander in chief.
If you understand that chain of command, you'll understand why there was not help earlier on Jan. 6, Norton says.

Norton says DC Mayor Bowser called at 1:34PM. It was almost four hours before DC National Guard showed up because they were waiting on authority to do so, she adds.

Piatt was the one who said he was concerned about appearance of using soldiers to secure the election process in any matter that could be viewed as political. Norton: Does the current DC NG chain of command, could inadvertently politicize or complicate use of DC Natl Gu

Piatt: The complication comes from the lack of unity of command and effort. What we saw after 1/6 when we prepared for the inaug was an integrated security plan across the district so 1 request could be worked out within 1 agency who had he authority to move and maneuver forces

Rep Jody Hice says he is concerned about defendants facing charges for alleged involvement at Capitol attack now being subjected to solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.

Hice asks Wray how many defendants are being held in solitary confinement. Wray doesn't know.
The facility in DC where these defendants are being held in solitary has said historically they separated some people from gen pop because they are targets among other inmates

Jody Hice calls for hearings on BLM protests from last summer.

Rep Lynch: You both recommended that other federal buildings were protected to help relieve civilian police so they could go and defend the capitol, is that correct?
Piatt: We rec'd a request on Jan 1. and spent those days helping Mayor Boswer do unarmed control points and

Piatt continued:.. traffic control. When the request came in, the urgent request was to support the capitol.

Lynch: But on Jan 4. under direction of then Sergeant of Arms Mike Stenger, they contacted Gen. Walker to find out how many guards he could provide and how fast IF they needed them on Jan. 6

Lynch: But on 1/6, you were telling Gen. Walker to deploy guards to other federal buildings. I can't reconcile that. in that moment, what were you thinking?

Piatt: I do not know where that came from. I deny that. At 4:30 that afternoon, we were minutes from getting an approved plan. We had approval at 3:04 for mobilization. What we needed was a new mission and that new mission is what took time. There was no other seeking approval.

Rep. Lynch says, but look at the chronology -
The 4:20pm call was 80 mins after Miller determined all available sources of DCNG are required to assist DC police
Piatt tells Lynch to look at the US army report on this, maintains approval at 3pm, then mobilization at 3:04 pm

Wray says when you look back at 1/6, you have one group of people who were peaceful but rowdy protesters, then another group who were in the moment, engaged in all sorts of criminal behavior and they are being prosecuted. Then, there's a third group.

Wray: While the smallest, by far and away the most serious. Those are the people who were clearly coming with intent to commit very serious mayhem and brought all sorts of weapons and protective gear with them and those people face the most serious charges.

Wray: It's an inverse period with most serious people being in the smallest group, though all of them, it's a serious number. At least 30 charged with conspiracy alone.

Rep. Glenn Grothman,R, says he wants to focus on people who didn't engage with police, or people "who were allowed to be in the Capitol."
Grothman: I recall, there were people walking in the door and cops, perhaps out of exhaustion, allowed people to walk into the capitol.

Grothman: Are there people like that?
Wray says at any moment you could catch someone on video who looks like they're just walking through but that doesn't nec. indicate much out of context.
Grothman keeps hammering this question

Grothman: Were there ppl that were in the capitol that didn't realize they were breaking the law?
Wray says he doesn't know, can't say whether the type of people Grothman is describing have been arrested but the people who have been arrested, were because they broke the law.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA, in his remarks after Grothman says that fellow lawmakers who would try to play down the attack and compare insurrectionists to tourists are "repugnant" and do this with no respect to those officers who died by suicide or otherwise in the fallout

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, at a hearing on 1/6 delays kicks off his remarks by complaining that Democrats are attacking Trump, in a nut shell.
Live feed here:

Jim Jordan is now upset that Rosen didn't follow Mark Meadows trail of conspiracy breadcrumbs about alleged election fraud.
Background: courthousenews.com/emails-show-tr…

Jordan says, "wow, the taxpayers are going to love that we are investigating Mark Meadows now" in re: to story here: courthousenews.com/emails-show-tr…
Informal unscientific poll: Would you, a US taxpayer, love an investigation into POTUS leaning on DOJ to overturn election in his favor?

Rep Krishnamoorthi presses about foreign donations to domestic extremist groups, specifically Nick Fuentes, circled below
Context: blog.chainalysis.com/reports/capito…
He asks Wray if he would rule out that foreign financing would help fund related activities to 1/6?
Wray says he wouldn't.

@CongressmanRaja asks Wray if he discussed lawmaker metadata leak with Jeff Sessions.
courthousenews.com/doj-watchdog-t…
Wray: Respectfully, the IG has been asked to look into it.
Krishnamoorthi to Wray: You're being evasive under oath.
Then, says Wray should be probed like all others

.@RepRaskin begins his remarks by saying in an emergency, every minute matters. For instance, former veep Mike Pence only escaped a noose, followed by men calling 'Hang Mike Pence,' by a minute.

Raskin: Why was there a 36 minute delay.
Piatt says there are discrepancies in logs and all the timelines as they merged final reports.
But Raskin says, between when Walker received authorization and then it actually came down - the documents show its unclear who...

told Major Gen. Walker he had approval to send the guard to the Capitol.
Raskin: Army Secy McCarthy personally notified Walker at 435PM that he was authorized to deploy but the DC national guard says this directive was related to staff by another official.

Raskin: So whose job was it to inform Walker he could deploy?
Flynn: By authority, it would have been Secy of Defense.
Raskin asks him to explain time discrepancies.
Flynn: I can't explain discrepancies in the timeline, as various timelines merged, its minutes off.

Raskin: But how do you explain the 36 minute delay
Flynn: I don't know but at 17:02, buses deployed.
Raskin: But did you think that 32 minute delay is justifiable or acceptable in terms of getting a DC National guard to Capitol during worst attack there since War of 1812?

Flynn says that the discrepancy may be attributed to getting guard mobilized, in riot control gear and transitioning from unarmed non law enforcement mode to being put into the middle of a violent mob, "I think that accounts for that time, congressman."

Flynn: We should have an integrated security plan. We should have had information and intel sharing on crim activities before 1/6 & we should have pre federalized certain NGs so they could immediately be moved to the Capitol to have them in place before this happened.

Republicans on the committee call for a motion to adjourn, led by Rep. Clay Higgins, because lawmakers are forced to leave the hearing to go vote and then return. Higgins, R-LA, says this is unacceptable and wants to adjourn.

Another GOPer calls to adjourn. Motions made while Rep. Ro Khanna questioning Wray, Flynn, Piatt. More chatter, infighting. Raksin: GOP doesn't have floor. Khanna: "We had an insurrection, we don't need disruptions here. Can we allow the democratic process to continue please?"

Rep. Khanna: Does it make your job harder when lawmakers in this body are praising the protesters, some of them saluting them (referring to Josh Hawley)
Wray: I understand why you're asking the question but its best for me as FBI not to weigh in on certain people's rhetoric

Rep. Gosar is asking FBI director Wray if video potentially containing exculpatory evidence should be provided to public defenders?
Wray says that should be done under the rules of discovery.
Gosar: Was no one inside the Capitol arrested for carrying or using a firearm?

Wray: There's been at least one individual arrested -
Gosar tries to cut him off, asks him to provide an answer in written format. Gosar asks why the officer who killed Babbit hasn't been named. Gosar then suggests that the officer was hiding and lying in wait to kill her.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-NC laments that a hearing on 1/6 is being held. He says that this hearing and investigation into the attack is "a shell game" and "a dog and pony show that keeps emphasis off real things affecting real Americans."
"This was 160 days ago," Norman says of 1/6

My apologies, Rep Ralph Northam is from South Carolina, not North Carolina.

Wray says intel received before 1/6 did not indicate to FBI that people wanted to attack the Capitol. But Rep Hank Johnson, D-GA, says, "Its crystal clear" that the FBI was more concerned about BLM protesters in D.C. than it was by armed conflict by violent/armed Pr--d B--s etc

Wray says he is disappointed to hear the characterization and that he doesn't agree with it, says the FBI has raised the racially motivated violence threat to top priority since 2019. (They did)

Related content: courthousenews.com/biden-says-fig…

Wrapping up live-tweeting now. Report soon for @CourthouseNews

WASHINGTON (CN) — Top security officials defended the deployment delay of the National Guard to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 during a tense oversight hearing Tuesday where lawmakers pored over the litany of intelligence failures pockmarking the deadly day.
courthousenews.com/top-security-o…