Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow And Jim Sciutto 20210223

Received the Opening Statements from the people who are going to be testifying. And for the first time we are hearing from one of those people, paul irving, he is the house sergeant at arms, the former now, who essentially is part of the team that is in charge of securing the capitol and hes defending his actions that day as well as the others. And what he was saying in this Opening Statement, what he intends to say is that they have no intelligence to indicate that anyone was going to try and overtake the capitol. And in this Opening Statement is what he said. Let me read it to you. For each of the days leading up to january 6th and indeed on january 6th itself, the Capitol Police issued a daily Intelligence Report in which it assessed the potential for this civil disobedience and arrest as remote to improbable. So hes saying there was no intelligence to say that there mob was going to attack the capitol. And were getting the Opening Statement from the former Capitol Police chief steven sund and hes defending his actions on that day saying that they were prepared based on all of the information they had, they were prepared for the day. He also said theyve had several meetings leading up to it. But he also said that he went to paul irving and he said, in the days leading up to the up to january 6th, he said that he asked him, should we call up the National Guard and he said that paul irving told him that he was concerned about the optics of having the National Guard there in place on the capitol. So it is going to be interesting to see how this plays out at this hearing. Because sund here, the former chief, is not holding back. He has a list by list and he goes time to time of the times that he went asking for National Guard and the conversation. Shimon, hold that thought because the hearing is kicking off here. Looking into security failures january 6th, lets listen in. This joint meeting hearing today. I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us today and fo and for your service to our country. For Many Americans this will be the first opportunity to hear about what happened in the capitol on january 6th directly from our witnesses. We appreciate your willingness to work with our committees, to examine the breakdowns that allowed this terrible attack to occur and to ensure that an attack like this can never, ever happen again. In hearing is unique because it is personal for everyone involved. And im grateful to our witnesses, colleagues, staff, Capitol Police and the d. C. Metropolitan police and the National Guard units who continue to assist in protecting the capitol today. And for all of the hard work that allows this very important discussion to begin. So i would like to once again thank chairwoman klobuchar for your partnership and for your leadership and look forward to your opening remarks. Thank you very much, chairman peters and good morning. Thank you to our witnesses for being here today for this first joint hearing of the rules committee and the Homeland Security security and Government Affairs committee as we work to conduct oversight into what happened in the lead up and during the horrific events of january 6th. Thank you to chairman peters and also Ranking Member portman and my good friend senator blunt who i look forward to continue working with on the rules committee in this congress. I think it is important to note that we planned this entire hearing on a bipartisan basis. That is because of the stakes are so high and we want this, and i say this to our witnesses as well, who are all appearing here volunteerly, i think it is important for the members to know that and we thank them for doing that. We want this to be as constructive as possible. Because in order to figure out the solutions so this doesnt happen again, we must have the facts. And the answers are in this room. When an angry violent mob staged an if insurrection on january 6th and desecrated our capitol, the temple of our democracy, it was not just an attack on the building, it was an attack on our republic itself. Were here today to better understand what was known in advance, what steps were taken to secure the capitol and what occurred that day. Because we want to ensure that nothing like this happens again. Each of our witnesses held a leadership role at the time of the attack. Acting chief Robert Contee of the metropolitan Police Department, of the District Of Columbia, mr. Steven sund former chief of the u. S. Capitol police here with us in person today, mr. Michael stanger, former Senate Sergeant at arms and mr. Paul irving, former house sergeant at arms. The other witnesses are here as of our witnesses do via video. To our witnesses, your testimony is vital and thank you again for coming. At the same time, this is certainly not the last hearing that we will have regarding this attack. Next week we will hear from witnesses from federal agencies including the fbi, the department of Homeland Security, and the department of defense that are critical to our understanding. The insurrection at the capitol was more than an assault on democracy, it was an actual life or death situation for the many brave Law Enforcement officers who showed up here to do their work every day and at the beginning of this testimony well hear from one of them. Well never forget the haunting shreeks of the Police Officers pinned in and pleading for help and officer harry dunn who fought against the violent mob for hours and after it was over break down in tears telling fellow officers he had been called the nword 15 times that day. He asked, is this america . Our officer Eugene Goodman who after saving senator romney from walking, who is here with us today, thank you, from walking directly into the mob, ran by himself to take on a group of rioters and then Eugene Goodman diverted that mob away from the Senate Chamber allowing us to safely depart. Trag tragically the attack on the capitol cost the lives of Brian Sicknick who died from injuries sustained while ep gauging with protesters. Two other officers died by suicide following the event of january 6th, d. C. Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith and u. S. Capitol Police Officer howard levin good. Or howie to those who knew them worked the delaware door of the russ Office Building someone who ive seen at the door way and greeted me and everyone with a warm smile. It is been reported that 140 u. S. Capitol Police Officers sustained injuries from defending the capitol. They will be remembered forever but there are still many voices that we have not heard including the many staff who make sure we have food in our cafeteria and water and heat in our building. One Janitorial Worker hid during at tack in a closet. Another staff member reflected on how terrible he felt when he had to clean up feces and had been speared on the wall saying i felt bad, i felt degraded. These dedicated workers were here, too, when the capitol was attacked as were many committed journalists who report on our work to the American People. To make this place safe Going Forward, we must answer some key questions. First and foremost, on many of our minds is what took so long to deploy the National Guard that day, both because of decisions made in the capitol complex but also by others in the federal government. We must find out what was known about the potential for violence before the attack and how that intelligence was shared with Law Enforcement partners including the officials responsible for protecting the capitol. There are also important questions to be asked about how information concerning those threats was communicated to rank and file officers. And it is vital that we explore necessary reforms to the structure of the Capitol Police board which i know we will hear more about today. We owe it to the 140 Capitol Police officers injured and to all those at the capitol who continue to suffer the repercussions. We owe it to the officer beaten by the violent rioters because he placed his body in the door way to protect us. We owe it to the officers who lost her lives. We owe it to American People to figure out how the United States capitol, the preeminent symbol of democracy around the world, could be overtaken by an angry, violent mob and we owe it to ourselves, colleagues, to believe enough in our democracy and in the u. S. Senate that despite our political differences, we will be constructive in this hearing today, not just here to make political hey, but be constructive today so figure out what went wrong and what changes we could make ensure that the capitol is safe for us and the public Going Forward. Chairman peters, Ranking Member blunt and portman and colleagues, for me the bottom line is that we must get the answers and those answers are what will give us the solutions. Thank you very much. Thank you madam chair. It is been just over six weeks since our nation watched with horror as our Capitol Building was breached by domestic terrorists who sought to use violence and intimidation to overturn the results of a free and fair election. This was a shocking assault on our democracy. And it marked one of our nations darkest days. The United States has stood as a beacon for the world, showing how democracy can thrive. On january 6th, we saw just how fragile many of our most valued democratic principles, including the peaceful transfer of power is. It is hard to compress how deeply grateful we are for the action our Capitol Police, our sergeant at arms and other Law Enforcement agencies do to keep us safe every single day. And especially on that day. Too many of our officers were gravely injured or tragically killed as they bravely fought back the attackers. Chief contee, were indebted to the d. C. Metropolitan Police Department for their valiantef warts to thwart the attack. D. C. Police helps secure the capitol but the officers under your command did not hesitate to come to our aid. We are thankful for the heroic actions of so many who ensured this direct attack on our democracy failed. But there is no question that there were colossal breakdowns in the intelligence gathering and security preparations leading up to the events of january 6. As well as during the coordination and response efforts once the attack got underway. Our goal today is to begin to understand where those breakdowns failures occurred and to determine if there are policy and structural changes Congress Must make to prevent a future attack of this nature. In my role, on the Homeland Security committee, ive worked to raise attention to domestic terrorism, including the rise of insidious dolg of white supremacist and now qanon conspiracies. These ideologies are intertwined in neem you arous ways and we saw how quickly they could shift from online communities to committed organized Violent Attacks in the real world. But the warning signs were there. Just a few months earlier in my home state of michigan, lawmaker successfully stopped a plot by antigovernment militias to kidnap our states governor. Weve seen an increase in Violent Crimes over the last decade driven by hateful ideologies and we saw the deadly and tragic consequences on january 6 when the domestic terrorist threat was not taken as seriously as it should have been. This is a systemic and leadership failure on the part of the security officials, if the fbi and the security leadership on the ground in capitol and it must be addressed. Domestic terrorism is not a new threat. But it is an urgent threat. It will require serious focus to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to protect the safety and security of all americans. And id like to take a moment to remind my colleagues that every senator here today took an oath to protect and defend the constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. As committees charged with oversight, strengthening Homeland Security and maintaining capitol operations, we have a solemn duty to thoroughly examine the security breakdowns and make needed reforms. And im hopeful well be able to Work Together and carry out this responsibility in a serious and a nonpartisan way. And finally while todays hearing is our first on january 6th attack, it will be not be our last. We will continue to seek testimony and information from a range of agencies and officials who were involved in preparing for and responding to the events of the day for the u. S. Capitol and for the entire region. The attack on january 6 was an extraordinary event that requires exhaustive consideration. The American People deserve answers on why their capitol was breached and i look forward toing have a productive discussion with our witnesses to provide the American People with those answers. Thank you, madam chair. Senator blunt. Thank you, chairwoman klobuchar, it is great to work with you and chairman peters and senator portman as we move forward on this hearing on what happened on january the 6th and i think that will require discussion of what happened in the days immediately leading up to january the 6th. This hearing as senator peters have both seed the beginning of a series of efforts that we could approach in a bipartisan way that looks for a solution and ensures that the deadly outrageous destructive attack that marked such a sad day in our history never happens again. The officers who defended the capitol deserve to be recognized and praised for their valiant efforts and willingness every day to stand ready to do what needs to be done to defend the capitol and those who work there. Im certainly grateful to them. Im particularly grateful in this instance to the metropolitan Police Department and their really admirable response to be here quickly, to be here with significant numbers of people in the very shortterm and within an hour to have an incredible impact on what was going on here at the capitol and in a positive way. The failures of the day, unfortunately, were of the most serious kind. Senator klobuchar has already mentioned the three officers whose lives were lost and other officers who have really had to deal with this in a significant way. Also you have to remember that this was an event where the families of our officers were watching in realtime on television in an attack where theyre seeing people that mean t the entire world to them in this fight for their lives and fight for our lives and the capitol. Three of todays witnesses, former house sergeant at arms irving, former Senate Sergeant at arms stanger and former chief of the United States police sund were all charged with protection of the capitol on january 6th. We need to hear from them. Where there was a failure of imagination of what could go wrong, a failure of intelligence gathering and dissemination, a failure of preparation which ultimately led to this problem, or maybe a structural failure that is just not designed in a way that it allows us to respond to an immediate crisis and obviously we need to get that done. I want to hear from chief contee of the metropolitan Police Department to learn about the departments role and frankly to learn how their decisionmaking process appeared to be so much quicker than the decisionmaking process we could go through here. I believe it is important for everyone to note that the attacks on january 6th did not prevent congress from fulfilling its responsibilities, both chambers reconvened that evening and finished the certification of the results of the Electoral College and i think senator klobuchar and the Vice President and i leave the building at about 4 00 a. M. On friday morning but we did get our work done where the American People and people all over the world would have expected it to get done. And then on the 20th, we held an inauguration on the same platform that had been stormed three weeks earlier. And the two weeks earlier and carried out one of our most important aspects of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power. I want to thank my colleagues from both the Homeland Security rules committee for todays hearing as and stat work that has gone into getting ready for today. Thank you, member portman. Thank you chairman peters. Chairman klobuchar and Ranking Member blunt for the constructive comment this is morning. In this business you often finish like you start. And i appreciate the fact that were starting this review by taking the politics out out t so get to the bottom of what happened. I want to start by expressing my gratitude to the men and women of Law Enforcement, secret service and National Guard and metropolitan Police Department, the fbi and all of the Law Enforcement agencies who put their safety on the line to safeguard democracy on january 6th. As i said in the senate floor that night, it was thanks to them that Vice President pence, members of congress, staff and the capitol complex work force were protected and we were able to complete our constitutional duty of certifying the election. It was important in my view that we sent a clear message that night to our constituents and to the world that we would not be intimidated, that the mob would not rule here. That that message could not be delivered without Law Enforcement securing us and our respective chambers. Seven individuals lost their lives as a result of the capitol attack. Including two Capitol Police officers and a d. C. Metropolitan Police Department officer who will never forget the service and sacrifice of officers Brian Sicknick, Jeffrey Smith and howard levingood. I knew over levingood and i saw howie and his colleagues will tell you no officer was more dedicated to the mission of the capitol hill Police Department and a mission and duty to serve and protect and im proud to have called him a friend. We will never forget officer Eugene Goodman, and the hundreds of other officers who were heroes on the front lines that afternoon, that evening. Many of whom sustained injuries. To honor that kind of sacrifice and avoid future attacks, we have got to take a really hard look at what happened on january 6th. The Decision Making that led up to that day and the Decision Making that allowed the capitol to be breached and over run. As a bipartisan media advisory, announcing this joint hearing stated the purpose today is to examine the security failures that lead to a breach on january 6 specifically the preparation and response efforts. There are key questions that have to be answered. First some witnesses sicted there was an intelligence failure. We need to know. When was the intelligence nobody and who knew it. Second our request for National Guard assistance, we need to know did the u. S. Capitol Police Request approval to seek National Guard assistance prior to january 6 and, if so, why was that request denied. We need to know was the request for National Guard assistance on january 6 delayed and why. If that is true. And we need to know why it took so long for the National Guard to arrive after their support was requested. Third, the capitol was overtaken in a matter of hours. We need to know whether Capitol Police officers were trained and equipped to respond to an attack on the capitol and if not, why not. And we need to know why the capitol complex itself was to vulner anl and insecure that it could be so easily over run. My hope is that today we get clear answers to these questions from our witnesses. We need to know what happened and how to ensure this never happens again. It is that simple. Ill be listening to carefully and my colleagues will to the testimony of the witnesses before us. This events on january 6 showed while our democracy is resilient, our democracy at times will be challenged. Weve got to be up to that challenge. That certainly includes securing this capitol. The citadel of democracy. That is something that we could all agree on. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator portman. Before i introduce the panel, it is important that we hear from someone we all believed it was important that we hear from someone who was on the front lines that day. And id like to recognize captain carnisha mendoza. The captain has been a member of the Capitol Police for almost 19 years with 13 years of leadership experience. She currently serves as a field commander in the special Operations Division where her duties include acting as a field commander. She has served in various decisions within the department including the command center House Division and senator division. Before she joined the Capitol Police she served as an active duty soldier in the United States army and she has received various awards for her work including her work on Recovery Efforts during the pentagon atack on 9 11. Born and raised in missouri, senator blunt, captain mendoza graduated from Park University with a bachelor of science in criminal justice administration. She has two children. On january 6th she rushed to the capitol when she heard that her fellow officers needed immediate help and assumed command in the r rotunda as they fought to push back the rioters and drive them out of the building. Captain, thank you for sharing your story today. Thank you, good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to speak before the committee today. And thank you all for your service to our country. My name is captain carneesha mendoza and ive served with the United States Capitol Police for 19 years. I take a lot of pride in my job. Prior to serving with the Capitol Police i was an active duty soldier with the United States army. My last duty station was splint between the pentagon and the criminal investigations division. I received various award from the army and the Capitol Police for Recovery Efforts during the pentagon attack. Unfortunately i didnt save any lives but there are certain lessons that always stuck with me after 9 11. One of those lessons is knowing the unthinkable is always possible so be ready. So i always take my job very seriously as 9 11 is always in the back of my mind. With the Capitol Police, ive served in various operational administrative and collateral assignments and im currently serving as a captain in the special Operations Division where i have various responsibilities to include serving as a field commander and a Field Force Commander for the Civil Servants unit. Throughout my career, i have responded to and managed various Critical Incidents and events from congressional and member security related issues to shootings and armed carjackings. I have served as a cdu Field Force Commander for including the november 14th million maga march. In my career ive been activated to work demonstrations with controversial works and have been called so many names so many times that im numb to it now. As an agency, we have trained for and handled numerous demonstrations and it is something that ive felt we excelled at. During the million maga march, the proud boys and others converged on the Supreme Court along with counter groups. The civil disturbance unit fought hard that day. Physically breaking up fights, and separating various groups. I literally woke up the next day unable to move due to the pain. On january 6th we anticipated an event similar to the million maga march that took place on november 14th where woe would likely face groups fighting among one another. Additional civil disturbance units were activated that day. I was working the Evening Shift and had planned to report in at 3 00 p. M. I was prepared to work a 16hour shift and assume field commerce commander should the event continue into the evening and overnight shifts. It was approximately 1 30 in the afternoon, i was home eating many we 10yearold, spending time with him before what i knew would be a long day when a fellow captain contacted me and told me things were bad and that i needed to respond. I literally dpropped everything to respond to work that day early. I arrived within 15 minutes and i contacted dispatch to ask her what active scenes we had. I was advised things were pretty bad. I asked where assistance was needed and was advised of six active scenes. There was an explosive device at the Democratic National committee building, a second explosive device at the republican National Committee building, and large hostile groups at different locations outside of the Capitol Building. I advised the dispatchers i would respond to the dnc since that building was closest at the time. En route, i heard officers calling for immediate assistance so i proceeded past the dnc to the capitol. As arrived to the east front plaza of the capitol, i heard a officer sound there was a breach at the rotunda door and heard them qualifying out through the building. I was able to enter a lower level door with the assistance of a Capitol Division officer. Once inside of the door i immediately noticed a large crowd of possibly 200 rioters yelling in front of me. Since i was alone, i turned to go back so i could enter another door but within the few seconds it took me to walk back to the door i entered, there were already countless rioters outside of the building banging on the door. I had no choice but to proceed through the violent crowd in the building. I made my way through the crowd by yelling and pushing people out of my way until i saw Capitol Police civil disturbance units in riot gear in the hallway. They were holding the hallway to keep rioters from penetrating deeper into the building. I immediately jumped in line to assist with holding the crowd of rioters. At some point my right arm got regged between rioters and at railing along the wall. A cdu sergeant pulled my arm free and had he not, im certainly it would have been broken. I assisted an officer to safer location and got back in line. At some point the crowd breached the line officers worked so hard to maintain. Civil disturbance units began to rezee ploy to keep rioter from accessing other areas of the building. Proceeded to the rotunda where i smelled what i believed to be military grade cs gas, a familiar smell. It was mixed with fire extinguisher spray. The riots continued to deploy cs into the rotunda. Officers received a lot of gas exposure which is worse inside of the building rather than outside because there is nowhere it could go. I have received chemical burns to my face that still have not healed to this day. I witnessed officers being knocked to the ground and hit with various objects thrown by rioters. I was unable to determine what the objects were. I assumed command in the rotunda and asked for additional assets. After a couple of hours officers cleared the rotunda but had to hold the door closed because it had been broken by the rioters. Officers begged for for relief as they were unsure how long they could keep the doored with the rioters attempting to gain reentry. They were able to secure the door with furniture and other objects. Im proud of the officers i worked with on january 6, they fought extremely hard. I know some said that the battle lasted three hours but according to my fitbit i was in the exercise zone for four hours and nine minutes and many officers were in the fight before i arrived. Im extremely proud of the United States Capitol Police. Im specially proud of the officers who were the backbone of this agency and carry out daytoday operations. I know with team work we could move forward. The night of january 7th into the Early Morning hours of my birthday january 8th i spent at the hospital comforting the family of our fallen officer and met with the medical Examiner Office prior to working with fellow officers to facilitate a motorcade to transport Brian Sicknick from the hospital. Of the events ive worked in my nearly 19 year career in the department, this is by far the worst of the worst. We could have had ten times the amount of people working with us and i still believe the battle would have been just as devastating. As an american and an army veteran, it is sad to see us attacked by our fellow citizens. Im sad to see the unnecessary loss of life. Im sad to see the impact this has had on Capitol Police officers and im sad to see the impact this has had on our agency and on our country. Although things are still raw and moving federal will be a difficult process, i look forward to moving Forward Together as an agency and as a country. In closing, i want to honor chief sunds leadership. I served under his command as a watch commander for three years and was able to personally able to see his hard work and dedication. He was fully dedicated to the United States Capitol Police and he cared about every employee on the department. I often hear employees on the department praise his leadership and his ability to inspire others. Hes made a Significant Impact on our agency. Thank you, chief. Thank you. Thank you very much, captain mendoza for that beautiful statement and for your work on behalf of our country. Im going to give you the bios on the other witnesses and then senator peters will swear them in. Our first witness today is robert j. Contee, acting chief of the metropolitan Police Department of the District Of Columbia. Acting chief contee was sworn in as acting chief of the mpd on january 2nd of this year. He first joined the department in 1989 as a cadet, after being sworn in he became a Patrol Officers before being promoted to lieutenant and leading the forces intelligence branch. In 2004 he was promoted to captain and put in charge of the Violent Crimes branch after being promoted to Second District commander he joined the special Operations Division. For the next decade acting chief contee served in multiple leadership roles with the mpd and including Patrol Services south where he over saw several police districts. He was appointed as assistance chief of the Investigative Services bureau in march of 2018 and he is a graduate of d. C. Schools and holds a bachelor degree in professional studies from the George Washington university. Acting chief contee grew up in the community of northeast washington, d. C. Our second witness today will be mr. Steven a. Sund. Mr. Sund served as chief of the u. S. Capitol police from june of 2019 to january 16th of this year. Mr. Sund joined the Capitol Police in 2017 as assistance chief and chief of operations. Prior to joining the u. S. C. P. He spent 25 years with the metropolitan Police Department where he started out as a Patrol Officer in 1990. From 1999 to 2006 he served as mpd special Operations Division and helped plan several make major events including the 2001 and 2005 president ial inaugurations. After joining the mpd Homeland Security division, he rose through the ranks to become commander in 2011. As commander he served as lead planner for both the 2009 and 2013 president ial inaugurations and many other National Security special events. He received his bachelor and master of science degrees from john hopkins and his master of arts in Homeland Security from the naval post graduate school. Our third witness will be mr. Michael stanger. Form senator sergeant at arms who served in that capacity from april of 2018 through january 7th of this year. He joined the senate in 2011 as assistance sergeant at arms for the office of protective services and continuity. He is also served as chief of staff of the sergeant as arms and as Deputy Sergeant at arms. Prior to joining the sergeant at arms office he was a 35 year veteran of the United States secret service where he served in many roles including as the special agent in charge of the Washington Field office. Immediately before joining this senate, he served as assistant directory of the office of government and Public Affairs for the secret service. He graduated from fairly Dickenson University and also a veteran having obtained the rank of captain in the u. S. Marine corp. Our final witness today is mr. Paul irving. Mr. Irving served as sergeant at arms at house of house of represent trivs from january of 2012 through january 7th of this year. He joined the secret service in 1983 after briefly serving with the fbi. He served as head legal instructor for constitutional law and criminal procedure at the secret Service Training academy before joining the president ial protective division during the george h. W. Bush and clinton administrations. Following his white house serve, he served as assistant director for congressional affaired, assistantor for Government Affairs and assistant director for Homeland Security and assistant director for the secret service. He retired from the secret service in 2008 as assistant director and worked as a private Security Consultant until his appointment as house sergeant at arms in 2012. He is a graduate of the American University and whittier law school. I want to thank our witnesses for appearing voluntarily today and i look forward to your testimony. It is the practice of the Homeland Security and governmental Affairs Committee to swear in witnesses. So if the witnesses would stand and including those joining us virtually and raise your right hand. Do you swear that the testimony that you will give before this Committee Shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god. I do. I do. Thank you, you may all be seated. You want to begin then chief contee. Sure. Good morning. Chairman peters, chairman klobuchar and Ranking Members portman and blunt and members of the committee. Im robert j. Contee iii, the prime police force in the District Of Columbia. I appreciate this opportunity to brief you on the events of january 6th, 2021, a dark day for our country. I would like to begin by highlighting a few key facts to ensure the committees and the audience understand the very different roles of mayor Muriel Bowser and the District Of Columbia including mpd and those of congressional and federal authorities. First, mpd was prohibited by federal law from entering the capitol or its grounds to patrol or make arrests or serve warrants without the consent or request of the Capitol Police board. Second, the president of the United States, not the mayor of the District Of Columbia, controls the d. C. National guard. The scope of the request by the mayor must be limited to supporting the districts local jurisdiction and authority, which excludes entities, federafederal entities. And since a Public Health emergency last march, the district has not issued permits for any large gatherings. Although the district take pride in exercise of First Amendment right by all groups regardless of their breliefs, none of january 6th were issued permits. Mpd was prepared to support our federal partners with a First Amendment assembly primarily on federal land while continuing to patrol and respond to calls for Service Throughout d. C. Based on our experience, with prior demonstrations after the election, we recognized that there was a possibility of violence, especially after dart as Smaller Group of protests gathered with malicious intent on our city streets. To be clear, intelligence pointed to a large presence of some of the same groups that had contributed to violence in the city after demonstrations in november and december. The district has intelligence indicating the potential for violent actions in the streets of the District Of Columbia. In preparation for the anticipated demonstrations, and the possibility of violence on city streets, mpd was fully deployed on 12hour shifts the week of january 4th with days off and leave canceled. At mayor bowsers request, several area Police Departments were on standby in d. C. And more than 300 members of the National Guard were deployed on district streets for providing Traffic Control and other services. However, these resources were barely enough to counter an event that had never happened in the history of the United States. A mob of thousands of american citizens launching a violent assault on the the u. S. Capitol. The seat of our government and in an attempt to halt the counting of the electoral ballots an the peaceful transfer of power in our nation. The mobs assault on the capitol precipitated an unprecedented response where then steve sund issuing an urgent request for mpd to come assist in defending the capitol. Needless to say, when we received the call for help, mpd responded immediately. Within minutes our members arrived at a chaotic scene, a violent mob had over ran protective measures at the capitol at an attempted insurrection prior to arrival at the west front. Our objects were to, one, stop the rioters from entering the Capitol Building and remove those that were already inside. Two, secure a perimeter so that the capitol could be clear for lawmakers. Three, enable congress to resume their sessions to demonstrate to our country and to the world that our democracy was still in tact. And lastly, once the third objective had been accomplished, begin making arrests of anyone violating the law. At 2 22 p. M. , a call was convened with among others myself, leadership of the u. S. Capitol police, the National Guard and the department of the army. I was surprised at the reluctance to immediately send the National Guard to the capitol grounds. In the meantime, by 2 30 p. M. , the district had requested additional officers from as far away as new jersey and issued notice of an emergency citywide curfew beginning at 6 00 p. M. From that point, it took another three and a half hours until all rioters were removed from the capitol. 90 minutes later at 8 00 p. M. , congress was able to resume its critical work and fulfill its constitutional duty. Over the course of january 6th and into the Early Morning of the 7th, approximately 1100 mpd members responded to the capitol. At least 65 mpd members sustained injuries. Five people lost their lives on january 6th. As we reflect on that dark day, we offer our condolences to all of the grieving families. In closing, i appreciate the opportunity to highlight the heroism of mpd officers who put their lives on the line to protect the capitol, congress, and our democracy. But to ensure the continued safety of the district and everyone in it, we must be frank in looking at several critical issues. This assault on the capitol has exposed weaknesses in the security of the most secure city in the country. The federal police force in d. C. Will be reexamining their security protocol given the risk of both foreign and domestic terrorism. As the chief of the districts, Municipal Police force, i must think about our preparations not only for possible attacks, but for the daily impact of the changing operations of our federal partners. As they harden targets in the federal enclave of the buildings in the city under mpd jurisdiction may become more likely targets. This concludes my testimony. I am happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much, mr. Sund. Good morning, chairman klobuchar, and chairman peters and Ranking Member portman. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before your two committees regarding at tack that occurred january 6. Ive been in policed for almost 30 years. Witnesses on january 6 was the worst attack on Law Enforcement and our democracy that ive seen in my entire career. I witnessed insurgents beating Police Officers with fists, pipes, sticks, bats, metal barricades and flagpoles. These criminals came prepared for war. They came with their own radio system to coordinate the attack and climbing gear and other equipment to defeat the capitol security features. Im sickened by what i witnessed that day. Our officers fought valently using bat ones, shields, chemical munitions and pepper ball guns to hold back the attackers. Capitol police and responding Law Enforcement showed tremendous restraint by not using their firearms which could lead to a mass casualty incident. No civilian Law Enforcement agency to include the u. S. Capitol police is trained or equipped to repel and im proud of the Capitol Police officers and the metropolitan Police Department and the other Law Enforcement agencies that came to our assistance. A clear lack of accurate and complete intelligence across several federal agencies contributed to this event and not poor planning by the United States Capitol Police. We rely on Accurate Information from our federal partners to help us develop Effective Security plans. The intelligence that we based our planning on indicated that the january 6 protest were expected to be similar to the previous maga rallies in 2020 which drew tens of thousands of participants. The assessment indicated that members of the proud boys, white supremacist groups, antifa and other extremist groups were expected to participate on january 6th and that they may be inclined to become violent. Based on the intelligence that we received, we planned for increased level of violence at the capitol and some may be armed but none of the intelligence that we received predicted what actually occurred. Extensive preparations were put into place for january 6, that includes the full activation of the department, intelligence and information sharing with federal and local partners and department officials. Impleaing a significant enhancement to include significant civil disobedience deployment and an expanded perimeter. We also distributed additional protective equipment for our officers and coordinated outside agency support. As recent as tuesday, january 5th, during a meeting with my executive team, the Capitol Police board and a dozen of the top Law Enforcement and military officials from d. C. , no entity including the fbi provided any new intelligence for january 6 and Homeland Security did not issue a elevated or imminent alert for january 6. We properly planned for a mass demonstration with possible violence, what we got was a militarystyle coordinated assault on my officers and a violent takeover of the Capitol Building. I know that the images that we saw of the officers battling for their lives and the visuals on tv had a profound effect on the nation. We did everything we could based on the intelligence and available resources to prepare for this event. While my officers were fighting my post was in the command center coordinating resources from numerous agencies to provide critically needed support. I was also briefing the two sergeant at arms and working on establishing accountability and priorities for the incoming resources. As Capitol Police and outside resources began to reestablish the security perimeter i responded to the Capitol Building to evaluate the situation and brief the sergeant at arms and leadership. I acknowledge that under the pressure of an unprecedented attack, a number of systems broke down. One of the reported issues described by officers was a lack of Clear Communications and directions from officials. It appears that the established incident command for the Capitol Building was overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation and as officials battling insurrections as opposed to directing the response. There have also been reported that some officers may have felt confused or let down during the attack. As an official who cares as much as i do about my colleagues, nothing is more painful to me. These issues must be addressed in new training policies and procedures. Even our best efforts were not enough to stop this assault on the capitol. However casting blame on the Capitol Police leadership is not only misplace but minimizes what truly occurred that day. The focus Going Forward needs to be on efforts to improve intelligence and the coordination of security measures between all involved agencies. Hopefully this will be part of the focus of an independent after Action Committee to look at all aspects of the attack on our nations capitol. In closing i want to recognize the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police officers who on january 6th outnumbered and against the odds successfully carried out their mission to protect the members of congress and the legislative process. I couldnt have been more proud to be part of their team and the uscp mission. Im available to answer any questions may have. Thank you, mr. Sund. Mr. Stanger. Chairwoman klobuchar and chairman peters and Ranking Member blunt and portman, this is a unique environment for Law Enforcement. U. S. Capitol police in conjunction with the sergeant at arms worked to provide security at the capitol complex and its population. But there is a shared responsibility with other Law Enforcement groups within the region. Sharing information resources are paramount for success. Once assuming the Senate Sergeant at arms, the enhancement of the working relationship between my office and u. S. Capitol police have been a priority. [ inaudible ] this methodology could be used in assessing threats to individual numbers as well as threats to as intelligence operations it is only as good as the analyst assessing it. And that is an assessment placed in the appropriate hands to take steps in order to mitigate any threats. We have to be careful of returning to a time when possibility that probability security planning. For the events of january 6 revealed that what should be done. Returning to the concept of possibility of security operations. That will result in additional resources. This is the constant give and take of security planning. We have the opportunity to learn lessons from january 6. Investigations should be considered. As to what appears to be professional agitators. Should be considered in conjunction with these investigations. Law enforcement coordination and in the National Capitol should be reviewed on what could be done in a for efficient manner. Intelligence collection and dissemination, training and concepts on the use of force must be consistent. This should be accomplished with regard to [ inaudible ]. In conclusion, whenever you prepare for a major event, you must always consider the possibility of some level of civil disobedience at these demonstrations and plan accordingly. The events of january 6 went beyond disobedience. It was a wild coordinated attack with the loss of life that could have been much worse. This concludes my prepared remarks. Thank you, mr. Stanger. Mr. Irving. Chairman peters, chairwoman klobuchar and Ranking Member portman and blunt and distinguished members of the committees, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. There has been a lot of press reporting about me not all of it accurate and i appreciate the opportunity to address some of that today. My name is paul irving and i served as the sergeant of arms to the house of representatives for the past nine years. Serving in that role was one of the great honors of many life and i count it a privilege to work to speakers from both political parties, including speaker boehner, speaker ryan and speaker pelosi. Im Law Enforcement officer by training. My professional career started more than 40 years ago as an intern at the department of justice and then as a clerk at the fbi. I became the special agent of the secret service where i worked on two different president ial protection details and rose to the rank of assistant director. Like you im profoundly saddened by the events of january 6. The entire world witnesses acts of violence and destruction carried out by our own citizens at the seat of government. I am particularly saddened by the loss of life which included three officers. My heart goes out to all of the families that lost a loved one. We flan planning for the protest of january 6 in december of 2020. The planning relied on what we understood to be credible intelligence provided by various state and federal agencies. Including a special event assessment issued by the Capitol Police on january 3rd. The january 3rd assessment forecast that the protests were, quote, expected to be similar to the previous million maga march rallies that had taken place in november and december 2020. Every Capitol Police daily Intelligence Report between january 4 and january 6, including on january 6th, forecast the chance of civil disobedience or arrest during the protests as remote to improbable. I relied on that intelligence when overseeing the security plan put forth by chief sund. The kichiefs plan took on a al hands on approach and was assigned to work on january 6th. That meant approximately 1200 Capitol Police officers were on site including other tactical teams. I also understood that 125 National Guard troops were on notice to be standing by for a quick response. The metropolitan Police Department was also on 12hour shifts with no officers on day off or leave and they staged officers just north of the capitol to provide immediate assistance if required. The plan was briefed to multiple Law Enforcement officers. Based on the intelligence we all believed that the plan met the threat and that we were prepared. We now know that we had the wrong plan. As one of the Senior Security leaders responsible for the event, im accountable for that i accept that responsibility and as you know, i have resigned my position. Much has been said about how optics may have affected my about a National Guard officer to incorporate 125 unarmed National Guard troops into the security plan. The guards purpose would have been to work Traffic Control near the capitol. I use of the word optics have been mischaracterized in the media. Let me be clear, optics as portrayed in the media played no role whatsoever in my decisions about security. And any suggestion of the contrary is false. Safety was always paramount when making security plans for january 6th. We did discuss whether the intelligence warranting having troops at at cal toll. And the collective judgment at that time was no. The intelligence did not warrant that. If the chief of the security leader had expressed doubt about our readiness without the National Guard. Would you not have hesitated to request them. Chief sund stanger and i were confident in the chiefs plan and i did whatever i could do ensure that chief sunday had the support needed to prepare and execute that security plan. And on january 6 when i was asked for authorization to request National Guard assistance, i approved it. There are important lessons to be learned from january 6th. I commend the committees for conducting this proactive review of the events leading up to and on january 6th. I want to help the staff and members make changes and improvements and to ensure the tragedies of january 6 never occur again. I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you very much. Well now begin a questioning. I want to start out just to clear up one thing by just asking all of our witnesses yes no question. Based on what we know now, including the recent department of justice indictments, do you agree that there is now clear evidence that supports the conclusion that the january 6th insurrection was planned and it was a coordinated attack on the u. S. Capitol . Everyone agree . Yes. Okay. Would you agree that this attack involved White Supremacists and extremist groups . Yes. Yes. Okay. Would you agree that this was a highly dangerous situation which was horrific but could have actually been worse without the courage of the officers that you commanded . Yes. Okay. Yes. Thank you. So now lets look at what we knew leading up to it or what you knew leading up to it or what people that worked for you knew leading up to it. We knew leading up to it that on january leading up to january 6th, the President Trump sent nationwide tweets telling people to come to washington on january 6th and saying be there, it will be wild. And according to public reporting by the washington post, the fbi Norfolk Field Office issued a threat report on january 5th that detailed specific calls for violence online in connection with january 6th including the protesters, quote, be ready to fight and, quote, go there ready for war, end