The top Republican investigating the Jan. 6 House select committee’s actions believes military officials defied former President Trump and delayed deploying the National Guard to the Capitol that day.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) is chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, a role in which he led a months-long investigation into the now-defunct committee that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) created after the Capitol storming.
“What I’ve heard from senior Washington National Guard leaders and information I’ve received from the Department of Defense is that Department of Defense leaders deliberately delayed the National Guard’s actual arrival at the Capitol, either out of incompetence, lack of communication or concerns about appearances,” Loudermilk said.
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House Republicans are investigating Jan. 6 and the actions of the now-disbanded Democratic-led January 6th Committee. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
“It’s true that if they had arrived when requested, lives could have been saved because some people were trampled or killed by the crowd outside. If the National Guard had arrived on the scene, there would not have been a need to engage in combat. I think the sight of the National Guard coming off the buses in riot gear would have been enough to quell a lot of the violence that was going on at the time.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Pelosi’s office fired back, “Mr. Loudermilk is absolutely correct that the National Guard’s response may have saved lives but for inexplicable delays. The request for the National Guard response was made early enough to minimize damage that day. The problem is that responsibility at the Department of Defense and ultimately the White House delayed their response.”
Pelosi and other Democrats had blamed President Trump for a roughly three-hour delay in deploying the National Guard while Capitol Police and Washington, D.C., law enforcement fought to stop former President Trump’s supporters from harming lawmakers.
President Trump has previously blamed Speaker Pelosi for the delays, but she has no authority to deploy federal troops, and her office has previously denied any responsibility.
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The House Republican investigation is being led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). (Getty Images)
Loudermilk told Fox News Digital that based on the investigation, it appears military officials under the defense secretary are to blame, and he accused them of “certainly” acting in direct opposition to President Trump’s wishes.
“He’s already delegated that authority to the secretary of defense,” Loudermilk said.
But Pelosi’s office insisted Trump “did not do that.”
“At any point during the storming of the Capitol, President Trump could have ordered the deployment of the Washington National Guard,” Pelosi’s office said. “He did not do so.”
Loudermilk’s committee earlier this week released 45 minutes of previously unreleased footage filmed by Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, for an HBO documentary.
Footage viewed by Fox News Digital showed military officials assuring lawmakers evacuated to Fort McNair that the National Guard had been activated but unable to explain the reasons for the delay.
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Loudermilk said former President Trump was not to blame for the National Guard delays. (Felipe Ramares for Fox News Digital)
One of the videos shows Speaker Pelosi interacting with military officials at 3:00 p.m. on January 6, 2021, in which military officials inform Speaker Pelosi that the National Guard has been mobilized.
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Another video appears to show Pelosi on the phone with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who said that President Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had promised all the help needed to deal with the protests.
“Based on all the evidence we’re gathering, the Trump administration was doing everything it could to ensure adequate security,” Loudermilk said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bowser’s office for comment.
