DeLauro said the revelation left her stunned and that several federal law enforcement agencies failed by failing to act on the information they had.
“They had the information. They did not act on it. And a question I have, and which I think we should get under, is who decided not to act?” DeLauro told CNN.
“People said today that there is sufficient evidence, that the intelligence agencies have sufficient evidence, that an angry crowd is going to descend with Congress’ meeting in Washington to confirm the election as the intended target,” DeLauro added.
After Matt Cartwright, a Pennsylvania Democrat, took part in the trial, he told CNN: “It is only with pure dumb luck that elected officials, staff members and more policemen from the Capitol were not killed.”
Cartwright said his theory about the fact that there was not enough action to prepare was “that people were more concerned about optics, but more about safety.”
Cartwright said he had directly asked those who briefed the committee whether concerns about security preparations there were the reason for not acting.
“I got no denial, and I got some confirmations,” he told CNN, declining to say who specifically confirmed that optics was a motive behind the action.
According to prepared remarks, Pittman told lawmakers that police in the Capitol knew two days before the uprising that militia and white supremacist groups would be at the Capitol on January 6, and that some of the people were planning to be armed.
Pittman set out four things that the department was ill-equipped to respond to the attack: a lack of manpower, not the right equipment at hand or easily accessible, a lack of consistency around the process of sealing the building and communications to follow on radios. the public address system is difficult to hear during the attack.
CNN attempted to talk to some of the Republican lawmakers who attended the briefing.
Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, the leading Republican on the committee, described the briefing as a “critical first step” and, along with her Democratic counterparts, called for failure to act on intelligence that could prevent the attack.
“Although there are still many questions, it is clear that the failure was not due to a lack of intelligence, but rather a failure to act properly on this intelligence. This is unacceptable and has our law enforcers on the ground. “These heroes not only deserve our thanks for successfully protecting members and staff, but they deserve answers and a commitment to do better,” Granger said in a statement.
Rep. David Valadao, a Republican in California, said in a statement to CNN: “Today’s safety information with the House Competence Committee on the events of January 6 was very informative, and I hope the committee still keeps it.”
According to DeLauro, members did not get a clear answer when they repeatedly asked who was responsible for the lack of readiness and response.
“No one would answer the question,” DeLauro told CNN, suggesting it might be worthwhile for one individual to steer clear of the kind of miscommunication that took place on the day of the attack. avoid.
According to the Connecticut Democrat, there was no specific interrogation around tours given during the briefing Jan. 6, other than a statement from the FBI that all matters regarding the origin of the uprising are being investigated. She concluded her remarks during the briefing by saying tours are something to be investigated, and something she believes is being investigated.
Cartwright believes there has been a ‘good discussion’ on how to ‘veterinarian’ security forces more ‘carefully’, especially those who had to defend the Capitol.