WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob
Portman (R-OH), leaders of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee; Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), leaders of the Senate
Committee on Rules and Administration; Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley
(R-IA), leaders of the Judiciary Committee; Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio
(R-FL), leaders of the Select Committee on Intelligence; Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
and Richard Shelby (R-AL), leaders of the Appropriations Committee; and
Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), leaders of the Armed Services
Committee, are pressing key law enforcement, security and
intelligence agencies to provide them with all relevant information related
to the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol. The
bipartisan information requests
follow
an announcement from the leaders of the Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs and Rules Committees to conduct joint oversight of the
security failures that led to the breach of the Capitol building.
“The January 6, 2021 attack on our Capitol, one of
the great symbols of American democracy, will forever be a stain on our
Nation’s history. The attackers failed to disrupt the work of Congress,
due in large part to the heroic acts of many officers and congressional
staff. Nevertheless, the security failures that led to the breach
endangered not just the Vice President and the Congress, but the peaceful,
democratic transfer of power itself. The American people deserve a
complete accounting of those failures,” wrote the Senators.
The Senators are requesting information from 22
agencies and departments related to the preparations for and response to the
January 6, 2021 Joint Session of Congress and the security failures that led to
a breach of the Capitol. The Senators are seeking information on intelligence
gathering on potential violence prior to the attack, security preparations, and
detailed explanations of the agency’s security response.
The following is a full list of the agencies the
Senators are seeking information from: Senate Sergeant at Arms, House of
Representatives Sergeant at Arms, United States Capitol Police, Architect of
the Capitol, District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, District of
Columbia Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia Homeland Security
and Emergency Management Agency, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Park Police, United
States Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department
of Homeland Security, United States Secret Service, Federal Protective Service,
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security Office of
Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, United
States Army and Department of the Interior.
The text of the letter is copied below and
available
here.
February 8, 2021
Dear Department, Agency, or Office Head:
The January 6, 2021 attack on our Capitol, one of
the great symbols of American democracy, will forever be a stain on our
Nation’s history. The attackers failed to disrupt the work of Congress,
due in large part to the heroic acts of many officers and congressional
staff. Nevertheless, the security failures that led to the breach endangered
not just the Vice President and the Congress, but the peaceful, democratic
transfer of power itself. The American people deserve a complete
accounting of those failures.
We respectfully request that you immediately arrange
briefings with our Committees to provide all relevant information related to
the attack on the Capitol, including all information known about potential
violence prior to the attack, security precautions taken, and a detailed
explanation of your agency’s or department’s security response. Please
also provide the following information in writing and requested documents as
soon as possible, but no later than February 19, 2021. All responsive
classified documents and information should be provided to the Senate Security
(SVC-217).
- A detailed “tick-tock”
timeline of your agency’s or department’s actions prior to the January 6,
2021, Joint Session of Congress, through the attack, and until the Capitol
complex was declared secure.
- What intelligence about
potential demonstrations or violence on January 6, 2021 was generated or
received by your agency or department in advance of the Capitol
attack? Please also provide an accounting on how and when
intelligence was disseminated by or to your agency or department; who the
intelligence was shared with, both internally and externally; and what
actions were taken in response to the intelligence. Please provide
copies of all documents supporting these statements.
- What protocols does your
agency or department follow for a planned demonstration at the
Capitol? Were any deviations made from those standard protocols
before, on, or shortly after January 6, 2021, including whether certain
equipment and rules of engagement should be used, a perimeter should be
established, or if additional personnel should be on hand? If so,
please describe who approved such deviations and when. Please
provide copies of all such protocols, as well as documents supporting
deviations from those protocols.
- Within the past ten years,
has your agency or department participated in any planning, including but
not limited to joint training exercises, threat assessments, or tabletop
exercises, relating to large-scale demonstrations or violence at the
Capitol? If yes, please describe the date, scope, participants, and results
of the planning, including any recommendations made. Please provide
all supporting documents, including all reports, summaries, and analyses.
- What, if any, planning for
large-scale demonstrations or potential violence, including but not
limited to joint training exercises, threat assessments, and intelligence
sharing, occurred in advance of January 6, 2021? Where planning
occurred, please describe when it occurred, what Federal, state, or local
entities or task forces were involved, and all security recommendations
made. Please also provide all supporting documents.
- Did your agency or
department stand up an operations center for the January 6, 2021 Joint
Session of Congress? If yes, when was it activated, for what
purposes, and what agencies and departments participated? If not,
did your agency or department participate in an operations center led by
another agency? What was the chain of command should a catastrophic
event occur? Were plans discussed with your agency or department on
the possibility of handling arrests of multiple individuals, including the
transportation, housing, and processing of arrestees?
- What role did your agency or
department play during the January 6 attack? Please include an
accounting of the number of personnel on duty on January 6 in connection
with the Joint Session of Congress, including where these personnel were
located. Please also explain how these figures changed throughout
the day.
- Does your agency or
department have any mutual aid agreements with other law enforcement
entities in the National Capital Region? If yes, please list those
entities and provide all supporting documentation.
- Did your agency or
department receive requests for assistance? If yes, please describe
the nature of the request, who made it and when, what assistance your
agency or department provided, when it provided such assistance, who made
the decision to provide such assistance, and how and when the assistance
decision was conveyed to the requestor. Please provide all supporting
documentation.
- If your agency or department
protects Federal facilities and/or individuals, what advanced training,
including training with other law enforcement partners, threat
assessments, and perimeter security assessments are typically done in
advance of large-scale special events or protest activities? What
modifications are typically made to perimeter security for Federal
properties in advance of these kinds of events?
- If your agency or department
leads law enforcement or intelligence task forces, is the U.S. Capitol
Police a participant? If so, please list those task forces.
- What directives or orders
were given to frontline officers from your agency or department and how
were those communicated? Did your agency or department experience
any radio outages or difficulty communicating? Please provide all
recordings and documentation of these directives and describe your
agency’s or department’s policy for retaining records after a large-scale
incident.
- Does your agency or
department monitor and track potential demonstration activity on open
source, public, or private social media platforms? What information
did your agency or department obtain regarding how social media was used
to organize and promote events leading to the Capitol attack? Did
any social media company proactively communicate to your agency or
department about potential suspicious or criminal conduct identified on
its platform? If yes, please describe which company, the nature of
the conduct, and all actions taken in response to the information.
Please provide all reports, summaries, or analyses regarding social media
developed by your agency or department.
- Did your agency or
department alter or change its planning for the Joint Session of Congress
because of statements or input from any local, state, or Federal elected
official? If so, please describe those changes and provide all
relevant documentation.
- What coordination occurred
between your agency or department and the D.C. Mayor’s office or private
businesses in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia in advance
of January 6, 2021?
- Has your agency or
department begun any investigation related to the events of January
6? If so, please describe who is leading the investigation, the
scope of the investigation, and all investigative steps taken to-date.
- Have any disciplinary
actions been taken against employees of your agency or department related
to the events on January 6? If yes, please describe those
disciplinary actions in detail including, all investigations or removals
from duty pending investigation.
Thank you for your time and attention to this
important matter.
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