January 6 report from the House of Defense and National Security accuses Trump of attacking the Capitol

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A major 845-page report from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot found no Pentagon official deliberately delayed sending the National Guard to the U.S. Capitol. United during the attack.

We will share the contents of the report as well as details of President Biden’s signing of the Defense Authorization Bill days before the deadline and the message the United States and Ukraine sent to Russia during of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting in Washington.

Meet Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. A friend sent you this newsletter? Register here or in the box below.

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No Pentagon official deliberately delayed dispatching the National Guard to the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attacks, the House committee investigating the insurgency said in its final report. On the contrary, he said mixed messages had caused a delay.

Blame: The committee blames then-President Trump for the delay as rioters attacked building police, smashed windows and searched for lawmakers for more than three hours until guards showed up to help quell the chaos.

“President Trump had the authority and responsibility to direct the deployment of the National Guard to the District of Columbia, but never issued the order to deploy the National Guard on January 6 or any other day,” the official wrote. committee in the 845-page report. made public on Thursday evening. “He also did not ask any federal law enforcement agency to help him.”

A Major Goal: A key goal of the committee was to determine why it took the Pentagon hours to finally send the National Guard to the Capitol as the calamity unfolded.

The final report says Washington, D.C., National Guard chief Maj. Gen. William Walker “strongly” considered sending in his troops without specific orders from the White House or senior Department of Defense officials, but eventually resisted.

Would have, could have, should have: “Guard officials located with Major General Walker at the Armory all say he seriously considered aloud the possibility of breaking the chain of command,” according to the report. “’Should we just deploy now and quit tomorrow?’ [an officer] recalled Major-General Walker, saying so bluntly.

Walker told the committee he “would have done just that,” if Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy hadn’t sent two memos days earlier. These documents restricted Guard deployments around the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, over concerns they were seen as too political.

Unintentional: “We have no evidence that the delay was intentional. Likewise, it appears that none of those involved understood what President Trump had planned for Jan. 6 and how he would fare during the violence.

The committee also found there were ‘real’ concerns that Trump could try to use the military for a coup attempt as lawmakers count Electoral College ballots to certify presidential victory. by Joe Biden after how the former commander-in-chief used the military to respond to racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.

Walker eventually won permission to send Guard troops to the Capitol after congressional leaders frantically called on Pentagon officials, but Trump was never involved in the talks, the report said.

Read more here

Also from The Hill:

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President Biden signed the $858 billion annual defense authorization bill into law on Friday after Congress passed the legislation just before the year-end deadline.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the Senate last week with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, 83-11. The bill was named the “James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023” after the retirement of Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.), the top Republican on the House Forces Committee senate armies.

What Biden said: ‘The law provides vital benefits and improves access to justice for service members and their families, and includes authorities essential to support our country’s national defense, foreign affairs and homeland security’ , Biden said in a statement Friday.

Why it matters: The measure provides $45 billion more for defense than budgeted for Biden, including the allocation of $817 billion to the Department of Defense and $30 billion to the Department of Energy. It includes language demanded by conservative Republicans to end the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, which has been in place since August 2021.

Concerns: Biden noted in his statement that there are some parts of the legislation that concern him.

“While I am happy to support these critical objectives, I note that certain provisions of the law give rise to concern,” the president said. He also expressed concern about provisions that would effectively require Biden and officials to submit reports to certain congressional committees that involve highly sensitive classified information, including information that could reveal critical intelligence sources or operational plans. military, among other provisions.

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The Washington meeting of President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received worldwide coverage, but the leaders also had an audience: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The White House side-by-side and Zelensky’s speech to Congress came amid warnings from Kyiv that Russia was planning to renew a ground offensive during the winter months.

Intent of visit: The visit was intended to strengthen US support for Ukraine to effectively meet Russia on the battlefield. The 10-month war is expected to continue well into the future, with references to peace or a negotiated solution largely being an afterthought.

Biden pledged to help Ukraine “as long as it takes.”

Experts say the purpose of Zelensky’s visit was both to bolster Washington’s position as a world leader in defense against Russian aggression and to enable close cooperation between U.S. and Ukrainian officials on the next phase. fights.

Read this story here

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WHAT WE READ

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That’s all for today. Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you next year!

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