Top Republican slams Jan 6 Committee Chairman
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., tells 'Life, Liberty & Levin' Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is continuing to stonewall Pelosi angle.
House Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., continues to keep House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of the panel's investigatory purview, a top House Republican told "Life, Liberty & Levin" in the face of claims she rejected precautionary National Guard troops ahead of the riot.
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. — who took over the role after House Jan. 6 Committee Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney was voted out of the post — called the panel "un-American."
Stefanik pointed to Thompson's 2021 comment that "nobody is off-limits" from investigation including former President Donald Trump, but also cited further comments by the 13-term Democrat she said suggest he excepts Pelosi.
"Again, you have only one office that's off-limits to investigation, and that office is Nancy Pelosi's office. The Democratic head of the committee, Bennie Thompson, said at the start of this witch hunt that everything is fair game except for the speaker of the House's office," she said.
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Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
"[W]e know that the speaker's office was made aware of potential threats, potential violence that day. They failed to do their job to ensure the Capitol Police had the support they needed to secure the Capitol."
Republicans have cited comments from Thompson stating in-part the resolution governing the committee speaks to "facts and circumstances around Jan. 6," she said.
"I don't see the speaker being part-and-parcel to that," he said.
Trump previously discussed that subject with Fox News, saying he "definitely gave the number of 10,000 National Guardsmen" and that "they took that number and… gave it to the people at the Capitol, which is controlled by Pelosi."
Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Trump claimed the request was rejected because "they didn't think it would look good." Additionally, since-departed Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund told the Washington Post shortly after the riot congressional security officials turned down his suggestion of a D.C. National Guard presence.
Stefanik said Pelosi's office also has yet to turn reported communications with the House sergeant-at-arms, who reports to the speaker.
"The American people deserve to have that information... And as you pointed out, this is fundamentally un-American and it's a waste of taxpayer dollars," she added of Thompson's panel.
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who was denied a seat on Thompson's committee by Pelosi, also accused the speaker of being "involved in the decision to delay National Guard assistance."
Pelosi's office has pushed back on collective allegations she hamstrung any security measures, with Deputy Chief of Staff Drew Hammill saying in a 2021 statement his boss was "the target of an assassination attempt" by rioters and was "no more in charge of security than [then-Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell."
Hammill accused critics of "a clear attempt to whitewash what happened on Jan. 6 and divert blame."
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