The Capitol Riot Investigation: What to Watch For
Today
A Senate hearing on Tuesday will feature the testimony
of the top two security officials who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, as well as
police officials who responded to the riot.
Paul D.
Irving and Michael C. Stenger, the former sergeants-at-arms of the House and
Senate, have come under scrutiny since the Capitol attack. Both have
resigned.Credit...Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times
By Luke
Broadwater
Feb. 23,
2021, 5:00 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON
— A series of bipartisan investigative hearings will begin Tuesday in the
Senate to scrutinize the security breakdowns that failed to prevent the deadly Capitol
riot, the most violent attack in more than 200 years on the building where
Congress meets.
At a joint
meeting of two Senate committees, lawmakers will have a chance to question the
officials who were in charge of securing the Capitol during the attack on Jan.
6, when Capitol Police officers and members of the city’s Metropolitan Police
Department called in as a mob overran reinforcements while the vice president
and members of the House and Senate were gathered inside.
It will be
the first time the public will hear from the top two security officials at the
Capitol that day, both of whom resigned after the breach. Paul D. Irving, the
former House sergeant-at-arms, and Michael C. Stenger, the former Senate
sergeant-at-arms, have come under scrutiny amid reports that they did not act
swiftly enough in calling for the National Guard. The committees will also hear
from Steven A. Sund, the former chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, who also
resigned after the attack, and Robert J. Contee III, the chief of the
Metropolitan Police Department.
The basics
What we’re
expecting to see: The hearing on Tuesday will be the first in a series of
oversight hearings organized by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota
and the chairwoman of the administration panel, and Senator Gary Peters,
Democrat of Michigan and the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. They
will be accompanied by the top Republicans on the panels, Senators Roy Blunt of
Missouri and Rob Portman of Ohio.
When we’re
likely to see it: The hearing begins at 10 a.m. Senators will make opening
statements and swear in witnesses, who will deliver their own remarks and take
questions from lawmakers, with Democrats and Republicans taking turns. A joint
hearing means nearly twice the number of senators asking questions, which is
likely to mean a long day.
How to
follow along: The New York Times congressional team will be following all of
the developments on Capitol Hill. Visit nytimes.com throughout the day for live
coverage.
What we’ll
learn
Senators in
both parties have said they want to get to the bottom of what happened on Jan.
6. Despite ample intelligence indicating that right-wing militias and extremist
groups that supported President Donald J. Trump were planning violence — and
even that they were targeting Congress — law enforcement officers were
outmanned and underequipped during the riot.
Lawmakers
are expected to extensively question the witnesses about what threats they knew
of and how they prepared, what they did when it became clear that the situation
was spiraling out of control, and why they failed to securely fortify the
Capitol against the pro-Trump mob.
There are
also likely to be questions about why the National Guard was not called more
quickly to help quell the violence and who was responsible for the chaotic
decision-making and communication breakdowns that contributed to a nearly
two-hour lag between when Mr. Sund made the request for troops and when it was
approved.
Even as the
hearing was being planned, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was proposing the formation of
an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding commission modeled after the one that
investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The idea has generated
interest from both parties but already led to some partisan rifts.
Republicans
are resisting Ms. Pelosi’s blueprint for the commission — which would allow
each of the top four congressional leaders to nominate two members and
President Biden to name three, including the commission chair — because it
would skew the board toward Democrats.
Representative
Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and the minority leader, said in a
statement that the commission should be evenly split between both parties.
The
10-member National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States,
which was the product of an intense round of negotiating on Capitol Hill, had
five members named by Republicans and five by Democrats.
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