Several Republican congressmen sent a letter Monday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., demanding answers to what she knew concerning security decisions leading up to and including the day of the siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6.
The letter to Pelosi – sent by Reps. Rodney Davis, R-Ill.; Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; James Comer, R-Ky.; and Devin Nunes, R-Calif. – said "many important questions about your responsibility for the security of the Capitol remain unanswered. As you are aware, the Speaker of the House is not only the leader of the majority party, but also . . . is responsible for all operational decisions made within the House."
The GOP representatives said there were many calls from both Democrats and Republicans following the riot for a full bipartisan and bicameral review. But instead, the Republicans charged, Pelosi took actions "in a partisan manner without any consultation of House Republicans and therefore raise questions about the political motivations of your decisions."
One example of an unanswered question the letter points out were claims made by former Capitol Police Chief Steve Sund that he requested assistance of the National Guard from the sergeants at arms Jan. 4, two days before the riot. Sund said in a letter to Pelosi last month, the former Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving said he was concerned about "the optics" and did not feel the "intelligence supported it."
Fox News reported Pelosi's office responded the security of the Capitol and democracy are "not the priorities of these ranking members," while saying "the Committees of Jurisdiction were briefed in advance of Jan. 6 about security preparedness."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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