A committee staffer requested the whistleblower if a lawyer from the police division might be current for his interview, based on emails reviewed by POLITICO. The whistleblower stated he discovered the suggestion troubling, as he didn’t understand how the division realized he was slated to be interviewed. He stated he advised the staffer he wouldn’t take part in any assembly the place division legal professionals have been current. No one from the division finally attended his interview, he stated.
“They’re not going to do a real review of the Capitol Police,” the whistleblower stated in an interview. “I think it’s a chilling effect that they’re in bed with the general counsel.”
He stated he tried to steer the dialog with investigators to how the division dealt with intelligence, how its processes modified earlier than Jan. 6, and the way these modifications associated to the assault on the Capitol. The investigators appeared uninterested, he stated.
The whistleblower added that division legal professionals are scheduled to attend future interviews the committee holds with division personnel.
“It’s obvious that they [USCP] want to intimidate people and no one’s going to say anything bad about the department or anything that went on with the lawyers sitting in the room,” the whistleblower stated.
“It seems like the committee is carrying water for Capitol Police management,” he added.
A spokesperson for the committee declined to remark on the closed-door questioning.
“The Select Committee doesn’t comment on conversations with witnesses, but we have the utmost respect for police officers who defended our democracy on Jan. 6 and other first responders, and we welcome any facts and insight they can provide,” the spokesperson stated.
And a spokesperson for the Capitol Police stated the division’s function within the assault was “exhaustedly examined by multiple reviews.”
“Due to the hard work of our dedicated employees, and support from our Congressional stakeholders, the Department has already implemented more than 50 positive changes, including improving the way analysts gather and distribute intelligence, expanding the training programs, and streamlining our major event planning,” the USCP spokesperson stated.
The whistleblower stated he had extra substantive interviews final week with different committees. Additionally, he sent a scathing letter to congressional leadership in September describing the division’s response to the assault on the Capitol as a failure by senior leaders.
The House choose committee is taking a broad have a look at the lead-up to the assault on the Capitol, in addition to the day’s occasions and their fallout. It has issued greater than two dozen subpoenas, concentrating on former President Donald Trump’s White House workers and organizers of the large rally that preceded the riot. The panel faces vital time strain, since Republicans might take management of the House after the midterm elections and shutter the probe.
The panel has proven it’s prepared to make use of hardball techniques. Last month, it urged the Justice Department to prosecute former White House aide Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress. DOJ obliged, charging him with two misdemeanor counts on Friday.
