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House Administration Committee ranking member Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., penned a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., demanding House offices under her control stop obstructing a GOP investigation into the Capitol building’s security vulnerabilities.
“The events of January 6, 2021 exposed serious security vulnerabilities at the Capitol Complex,” Davis said in the letter Monday. “Unfortunately, over the past twelve months, House Democrats have been more interested in exploiting the events of January 6th for political purposes than in conducting basic oversight of the security vulnerabilities exposed that day.”
Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill.
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Davis said GOP lawmakers began investigating the security vulnerabilities of the Capitol immediately after last year’s riot, requesting records from the acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, the House sergeant-at-arms and the House chief administrative officer.
GOP lawmakers are most interested in the communications the House sergeant-at-arms and the House chief administrative officer had with Pelosi in the days leading up to and during the riot, hoping those emails, phone calls and text messages could shed light on the directions Pelosi gave that could have impacted security at the Capitol.
But Davis said only the USCP has so far cooperated with the request, pointing out that the House sergeant-at-arms and House chief administrative officer are “the two House officers who report directly” to Pelosi and have yet to produce records related to the Jan. 6 riot.
The GOP lawmaker detailed the numerous attempts Republicans have made to gain access to the records, all of which have so far been denied or ignored by officials directly answerable to Pelosi.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“As Speaker of the House, you are the most senior elected official in the House of Representatives, and therefore ultimately responsible for all House operations, not just those of your party,” Davis wrote.
During a GOP conference call with reporters on Monday, Davis pointed out that many changes that could help improve the security of the Capitol complex have not been implemented nearly a year later. Davis pointed out that recommendations to improve training have not been implemented, nor have there been improvements to all of the building’s physical security infrastructure.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, took aim during the call at the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, saying it has lied to the American people and was designed to hide Pelosi’s actions.
Jordan was originally selected by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarty, R-Calif., to serve on the committee but was rejected by Pelosi, citing his objections to certifying the 2020 presidential election.
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who was also rejected from service on the committee by Pelosi, said Americans deserve a bipartisan effort to get to the bottom of the events on Jan. 6, but Pelosi so far has only worked to exclude Republicans from the process.
Davis concluded his letter by accusing Democrats of only displaying a “superficial interest in examining the security vulnerabilities highlighted by January 6” and obstructing “Republican access to House records,” yet have held “witnesses in criminal contempt of Congress for raising genuine questions of legal privilege.”
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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“This double standard only adds to the evidence that Democrats are weaponizing events of January 6th against their political adversaries,” Davis wrote. “If you are truly interested in working with Republicans to improve the Capitol security posture, I demand that you direct all House officers immediately to stop obstructing our oversight.”
Pelosi’s office, the House sergeant-at-arms and the House chief administrative officer did not immediately return a Fox News request for comment.
