THE BLAME GAME: Pentagon and local Washington, D.C., officials were at odds yesterday over why National Guard troops were not immediately available to reinforce U.S. Capitol Police who were overrun by a violent mob of angry Trump supporters in Wednesday’s assault that killed five people, including a Capitol Police officer.
Pentagon officials insist they gave the city exactly what it asked for and approved requests from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in a timely manner. In contrast, Bowser said that restrictions imposed by the Pentagon on how the troops could be used hampered her ability to redeploy forces quickly when the demonstration at the Capitol turned into an uncontrolled rampage by insurrectionists bent on stopping the count of electoral votes that would certify Joe Biden’s win as the next president.
At a news conference yesterday, Bowser said because the nation’s capital is not a state, she is bound by limits of a deployment plan that had to be approved ahead of time by Ryan McCarthy, secretary of the Army, which has jurisdiction over the D.C. Guard.
If she were a governor, Bowser said, “We would not be restricted in any way in how we could deploy this Guard. So we would not have to clear a deployment plan with the secretary of the Army … If we find out during the course of the response that that needs to change dramatically, then I as mayor/governor would make that determination.”
Bowser pointed out that even if she had full authority over the National Guard, the U.S. Capitol is federal property, and she could not deploy troops there without a request by Capitol Police.
CONCERN ABOUT POLITICIZING THE MILITARY: Both local officials and the Pentagon were concerned about not repeating the politics of last June when Guard troops backed up a heavy-handed response to largely peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square.
But it was the Pentagon that imposed tight limits on the Guard mission, including that troops remain unarmed because it said the troops had not been requested for riot control, according to the Washington Post.
“In memos issued Monday and Tuesday in response to a request from the D.C. mayor, the Pentagon prohibited the District’s guardsmen from receiving ammunition or riot gear, interacting with protesters unless necessary for self-defense, sharing equipment with local law enforcement, or using Guard surveillance and air assets without the defense secretary’s explicit sign-off,” the Washington Post reported, citing “officials familiar with the orders.” The Guard was also told it would be allowed to deploy a quick-reaction force “only as a measure of last resort.”
THE TIMELINE: McCarthy, who was at the news conference with Bowser, told Pentagon reporters on a conference call that as of Sunday, the Capitol Police said they needed no more than the 340 troops requested by Bowser for crowd and traffic control, reports the Washington Examiner’s Abraham Mahshie.
McCarthy said it wasn’t until around 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the mob breached Capitol fences, that he got the call about the urgent need for Guard troops to be dispatched to the Capitol.
Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said upon hearing about the attack, he immediately sought federal permission to send hundreds of Guard troops and Maryland State Police but waited 90 minutes for McCarthy to authorize the deployment, all while he was fielding desperate pleas from congressional leaders, including Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, who he said were calling from a “bunker” on Capitol Hill.
“I was ready, willing, and able to immediately deploy [the National Guard] to the Capitol. However, we were repeatedly denied approval to do so,” Hogan said at a news conference.
INFORMED, NOT INVOLVED: In a short recorded video speech, written for him by his staff, President Trump last night denounced the “violence, lawlessness, and mayhem” of his supporters and accepted that he will leave office Jan. 20.
He also claimed he “immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders,” something that was disputed by the Pentagon.
The White House was kept informed, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said, but Trump was not part of the calls. Army Secretary McCarthy also said acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller authorized the additional National Guard members and that later calls with Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders were “informational” and not part of the request.
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AS DEMOCRATS CALL FOR TRUMP TO GO, HE SAYS HE’S GOING: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday accused Trump of inciting “an armed insurrection against America” and called the desecration of the Capitol and the violence targeting Congress “horrors that will forever stain our nation’s history.”
“In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people,” Pelosi said, calling for Pence to replace Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment. “If the vice president and the Cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment,” she threatened.
Out of options and facing a steady stream of resignations from his administration, Trump finally, grudgingly, threw in the towel, delivering a concession speech of sorts, posted on YouTube and Twitter.
“My campaign vigorously pursued every legal avenue to contest the election results. My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote. In so doing, I was fighting to defend American democracy,” Trump said. “I continue to strongly believe that we must reform our election laws to verify the identity and the eligibility of all voters and to ensure faith and confidence in all future elections. Now Congress has certified the results. And a new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.”
12 DAYS LEFT: With less than two weeks left before the end of his single term, Trump faces louder calls for him to step down.
“If Mr. Trump wants to avoid a second impeachment, his best path would be to take personal responsibility and resign,” writes the Wall Street Journal in an editorial. “This might also stem the flood of White House and Cabinet resignations that are understandable as acts of conscience but could leave the government dangerously unmanned.”
“He has cost Republicans the House, the White House, and now the Senate. Worse, he has betrayed his loyal supporters by lying to them about the election and the ability of Congress and Mr. Pence to overturn it,” the Wall Street Journal editors write, delivering a harsh judgment on the end of his time in office. “He has refused to accept the basic bargain of democracy, which is to accept the result, win or lose. It is best for everyone, himself included, if he goes away quietly.”
FIRST GOP TO CALL FOR 25TH AMENDMENT: “I think yesterday it became clear that the president is unmoored from reality and from his oath, and I think the vice president taking over and ensuring that the next couple weeks are a peaceful transfer is essential right now to the continuation of this strong union,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the first Republican member of Congress to call for Trump’s removal under the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.
“I had kind of gone to bed at 3:00 a.m. pondering on this question,” he told MSNBC. “And I woke up and realized that, you know, this matters, and it’s not the impeachment of the president. We don’t have time for that. But, it is ensuring that the federal government can continue, the conspiracies will not be driven, and that frankly, we can live under competent leadership until a transition of power.”
DOUBLE STANDARDS DECRIED: Both Democrats and Republicans see a double standard in the treatment of the protesters, which both parties have now labeled “domestic terrorists,” but not everyone sees the same double standard.
“No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, there wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol,” said President-elect Joe Biden, yesterday. “We all know that’s true, and it is unacceptable, totally unacceptable.”
In a separate news conference, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham called for an all-out effort to identify and prosecute every trespasser who terrorized the Congress as it was carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.
“I’m calling for a joint task force to be assembled and spend all the time and money necessary to identify every person who breached the security of the Capitol, who occupied the chambers, who invaded offices and destroyed property,” Graham said. “Trust me, in the social media world that exists today, it won’t be that hard to find thousands of people who took the law in their own hands. The people sitting in the chairs need to be sitting in a jail cell.”
But Graham also called out Democrats for being too willing to excuse violence and attacks against other federal institutions in previous protests.
“To my Democratic colleagues, I share your disgust and embarrassment and determination to make sure that what happened in our Capitol never happens again. But you need to speak up when this happens in other places. Lawlessness in one place breeds lawlessness everywhere,” Graham said. “So the mistake we’ve made is when people tried to destroy the courthouse in Portland, they weren’t prosecuted to the full extent of the law. When they occupied Seattle, they weren’t prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. When they attacked the acceptance of the nomination by President Trump here in D.C., virtually no one was prosecuted.”
TURN IN A TRAITOR: The FBI is looking for help in identifying the many people who are clearly visible in hundreds of video recordings made of the rampage.
“Our agents and analysts have been hard at work through the night gathering evidence, sharing intelligence, and working with federal prosecutors to bring charges,” tweeted FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Members of the public can help by providing tips, information, and videos of illegal activity at http://fbi.gov/USCapitol. We are determined to find those responsible and ensure justice is served.”
“Make no mistake: With our partners, we will hold accountable those who participated in yesterday’s siege of the Capitol,” Wray said. “As we’ve said consistently, we do not tolerate violent agitators and extremists who use the guise of First Amendment-protected activity to incite violence and wreak havoc. Such behavior betrays the values of our democracy.”
DON’T CALL THEM PROTESTERS: “What we witnessed yesterday was not dissent. It was not disorder. It was not protest. It was chaos. They weren’t protesters. Don’t dare call them protesters,” Biden said yesterday, as he announced his pick of Merrick Garland to be his attorney general. “They were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists. It’s that basic. It’s that simple.”
Calling the attack “one of the darkest days in the history of our nation,” Biden said the assault on the “the citadel of liberty and the United States Capitol itself” was “an assault on the rule of law, an assault on the most sacred of American undertakings: ratifying the will of the people in choosing the leadership of their government.”
PENTAGON CONDEMNS THE VIOLENCE: A day after the attack on democracy, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller issued a statement calling the deadly rampage “reprehensible and contrary to the tenets of the United States Constitution.”
“Our Republic may have been disrupted yesterday, but the resolve of our legislators to conduct the people’s business did not waver,” Miller said. “I strongly condemn these acts of violence against our democracy. I, and the people I lead in the Department of Defense, continue to perform our duties in accordance with our oath of office.”
AUSTIN’S CONFIRMATION HEARING SET: Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, who will be taking over the chairmanship of the Armed Services Committee once Georgia’s two new Democratic senators are seated, announced yesterday that a confirmation hearing has been set for Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. for retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense.
Democratic control of the House and Senate has increased the chances of a quick confirmation and approval of the waiver needed for the former military man to serve as the civilian head of the Pentagon.
Austin could be confirmed the afternoon of Jan. 20, as soon as Biden is sworn-in, making him the first Cabinet member on the job in the Biden administration.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Intelligence ‘all over the board’ in failed DC National Guard preparation for Capitol siege
Washington Examiner: States send additional National Guard troops to shore up capital
Washington Examiner: Inflammatory Trump tweets on day of Capitol breach were final straw for loyal White House staffers
Washington Examiner: White House fires State Department official who blamed Trump for ‘insurrectionist’ Capitol riot
Washington Examiner: Capitol Police chief pledges ‘thorough review’ of procedures following Capitol siege
Washington Examiner: US Capitol Police chief to resign
Washington Examiner: Pompeo to send UN ambassador to Taiwan in rebuke of China’s Hong Kong crackdown
Washington Examiner: The override of Trump’s NDAA veto shows Congress can reign supreme
AP: Painful questions after siege of Capitol by pro-Trump mob
Forbes: Man In Capitol Mob Fired After Wearing His Company ID Badge To Riot
Defense News: Another Senior Trump National Security Aide Resigns In The Wake Of Capitol Riot
The Hill: U.S. Military Leaders In Africa Reassure Troops After Capitol Riots: ‘Our System Of Government Is Strong’
Washington Post: Biden Is In Danger Of Having No Cabinet On The First Day Of His Presidency
Wall Street Journal: Biden Plans Alliance To Counter China
Reuters: North Korea’s Kim Vows To Comprehensively Expand Diplomacy At Party Congress
Air Force Magazine: B-52s Fly Direct to Middle East for 4th Time in 2 Months
Washington Post: Boeing agrees to pay $2.5 billion to resolve federal criminal charge over 737 Max conspiracy
Stars and Stripes: What Kind Of Uniform Is That? Marines Drill For Inauguration In Unique Style
Seapower Magazine: Marine Corps Presidential Helicopter Testbed Retired
19fortyfive.com: The U.S. Navy Needs More Firepower On The Cheap
Calendar
FRIDAY | JANUARY 8
8:30 a.m. — Naval War College online conference: “National Security Significance of a Changing Climate: Risk & Resilience in the 21st Century,” with Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite; and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment W. Jordan Gillis. https://usnwc.edu/News-and-Events
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Countering Unmanned Aerial Systems: The Path Forward,” with Army Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, deputy director of Force Protection (J-8) Joint Staff; Nicole Thomas, division chief for strategy and policy at the Joint C-sUAS Office; and Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project. https://www.csis.org/events
10 a.m. — Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies virtual discussion: “Did Russia just attack the U.S.? How should the Biden Administration respond? A conversation about the SolarWinds Hack,” with Thomas Rid, professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University and author of “Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare”; and Eliot Cohen, SAIS dean. https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events
FRIDAY | JANUARY 15
3 p.m. — Reagan Institute virtual discussion of America’s role in the world given the landscape of national security threats and challenges, with Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo and Roger Zakheim, director, Reagan Institute. https://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs-events
TUESDAY | JANUARY 19
3 p.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee holds confirmation hearing for Lloyd J. Austin III to be Secretary of Defense. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t need this job. I like it because I like being able to impact things and represent the 16th district of Illinois. But you know what, if it’s time to move on, it’s fine. I’ve been here 10 years. Do what’s right and honestly, it makes it a lot more peaceful in your life.”
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the first GOP member of Congress to call for President Trump to be removed from office.
