exclusive: On January 6, 2021, FOX News Digital learned that the House investigation into “what really happened'' has entered a “new phase,'' with Congressman Barry Loudermilk leading the charge and the American people He vowed to bring the “truth'' to .
Loudermilk, R-Ga., chairman of the House Administration Committee Oversight Subcommittee, told Fox News Digital that the investigation into him, which began under former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, had support from House Speaker Mike Johnson. He said that it is expanding.
“We're entering a new phase,” he said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “The chairman has given the committee all the resources we need to move forward and has essentially tripled the size of our staff.”
Rep. Loudermilk, Jan. 6, blasts committee targeting him: “There's a war on truth going on in this country.''
Republican members of the House Administration Committee (from left to right) Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), Rep. Brian Still (R-Wis.), Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), and Stephanie.・Representative Bice (Republican) – Oklahoma, Representative Mike Carey, Republican Ohio (House Steering Committee)
“We need to know what actually happened on January 6th, and how were these people – whoever they were – able to get into the Capitol? What were the security flaws?” is being investigated. Loudermilk added that the committee is also investigating “the actions of the special committee.” [on January 6] and how they conducted their research. ”
“Because the American people have a right to know what happened,” Loudermilk said. “My main goal is to get the truth out there so that the American people can make their own decisions about this issue based on facts, based solely on the facts of what happened, and not on preconceived notions or predetermined narratives. It’s what you do.”
Loudermilk told Fox News Digital that the Democratic-led House Select Committee of the last Congress on January 6th “went beyond the evidence to prove what they wanted to be true. ” he said.
Loudermilk said the committee “selected” the evidence and “excluded evidence that did not support their claims that Trump and the Republican Party planned, executed, and supported the attack on the Capitol.”
“But there is no evidence to support that so-called truth,” he said.
A scene from the January 6 riot at the US Capitol in 2021. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
“Listen, I'm not here to right anyone's sins,” he said. “But we want the truth to prevail.”
Although the attack on the Capitol occurred three years ago, January 6th remains a major topic and issue of the 2024 presidential election cycle.
Former President Trump was indicted from Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the January 6 and 2020 elections. Mr. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
And although the 2024 Republican front-runner has never been charged with incitement of insurrection, several states across the country are using the 14th Amendment to try to remove him from state ballots. .
Meanwhile, President Biden's first re-election campaign speech last week focused on January 6, accusing Trump of being a threat to democracy with the Capitol riot and claiming he had once again incited violence.
Biden will mark his third anniversary in January. 6 Accuses President Trump of “trying to steal history”
“That's an urgent need at the moment because we have a big election coming up.” “I'm not trying to influence elections, but it's important that the public is truly informed.”
Washington, DC – December 12: U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Loudermilk used footage from January 6 to point out a Biden campaign commercial.
“He's using an image of a gallows that was set up. That's what we're investigating. It was set up at 6 o'clock in the morning, so why on earth was it in place all day? Are you there?'' he asked. “It looked like someone should have taken it down.”
“Regardless of who attacked it, how did these people get in?” Loudermilk said.
Loudermilk said he was investigating a “security flaw.”
“We know there was a lot of intelligence that there was going to be an attack on the Capitol. So the Secret Service knew about it. The FBI knew about it. The Department of Defense had information, too. Homeland Security also had a tip, which was sent to: “We alerted the Capitol Police Intelligence Division, but nothing further was communicated to us. The Chief was not aware of it.'' he explained.
“Whether it was intentional repression or incompetence, there was a massive cover-up about it,” he continued. “We're investigating it, but as far as we know there was a group that was planning this attack on the Capitol.”
Loudermilk also said he had received information that federal agents were embedded in the crowd, which is “not uncommon at large gatherings.”
WASHINGTON, DC – June 16 House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Participants include (from left to right) Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). State) held its third public hearing on June 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee is chaired by Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Mississippi). (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“But the question we have is that if plainclothes law enforcement officers were engaged in heinous activities, it was the Metropolitan Police Department officers who were working in plainclothes and encouraging people to go to the Capitol. “Such activity is very worrying because we have already proven that there was a lot of activity in our hands,” he said.
However, Loudermilk noted that federal employees “are not permitted to enter the Capitol unless invited by the Capitol Police or the Capitol Police Commission.”
“Were there any federal agents here before the police chief called for mutual aid?” he asked.
A House of Representatives committee on January 6th released images from surveillance video of a tour of the US Capitol conducted by Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk on January 5th, 2021. (Special Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol)
Meanwhile, Loudermilk said the term “optics” comes up “too often in a lot of communications.”
“From civil defense units to Capitol Police in riot gear, people had concerns about the 'optics,' but somebody didn't like it. I think it might be.” [then-Speaker Nancy] Pelosi's office,” he said, adding, “We're tracking it. But they were told to leave riot gear on the bus — what's the point?” We don't have time to tell the people who are going to storm the Capitol, “Hey, wait until you put on your protective gear.''
“Thus, the term ‘optics’ comes into play when it comes to National Guard deployment,” he continued. “We have uncovered evidence that President Trump was aware of the attack on the Capitol and ordered the National Guard to be ready to deploy, so we're going to uncover that as well.”
A Texas man who allegedly fired a gun at police had turned himself in hours earlier on charges of participating in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Regarding the portion of the investigation focused on the House Select Committee, which adjourned on January 6, Loudermilk said he was even “unjustly accused” of “scoping the Capitol” by the committee. He called these claims “ridiculous” but said his experience gave him “insight into how the commission operates and how they operate their equipment and cherry-pick the evidence.” , I was able to see how the evidence in my case was redacted.”
Flashback: January. 6 Committee scrutinizes Republican-led Capitol tour of Loudermilk days before riot
Loudermilk said the first phase of the investigation is “laying the groundwork.”
“The task force was supposed to preserve all these documents, all the videos of the depositions. My hope was that when they turned over all the information, we would It was about getting the entire database. That's not what we got,” he explained. “We had a box with about 2 million pages of printed documents, just put in a box without any cataloging or sorting. There was about 2 terabytes of digital data.”
Separately, Loudermilk said the committee's members “have liability insurance, which means they cannot be held liable for anyone who may have been defamed by an accusation or false report.” I can’t.”
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“It's interesting that they took out liability insurance after the fact, but if their reports are that accurate, why should we worry about it?” Loudermilk asked. ”
“The American people have a right to know the truth about what happened on January 6th, and we have done so with a very unbiased approach.”
