Mollie Hemingway and Tristan Justice report,
The leading Republican tasked with his party’s investigation into the preparedness and response of the U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies to the Capitol riot on January 6 is being blocked by President Joseph Biden’s FBI from gathering information, a new document reveals.
Pelosi took what she admitted was an “unprecedented” step of refusing the appointments made by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, barring Navy officer and Afghanistan veteran Banks and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, from participation. In a fiery denunciation of Pelosi’s politicization of the committee, McCarthy, R-Calif., publicly announced Banks would lead Republicans’ investigation despite Pelosi blowing up the committee.
On September 3, Banks asked FBI Director Christopher Wray to give Republican lawmakers the same briefing offered to the Democrats on the progress of the agency’s own investigation. Partial findings of the FBI’s independent investigation were leaked to Reuters in August, which found “scant evidence” the Capitol riot was “an organized plot to overturn the president election result.” Wray has not responded to the request.
“Pursuant to the rules of the House of Representatives, the minority party in Congress retains the rights to the same information that is provided to the majority party,” Banks wrote in another letter to Wray on Sept. 16, which was also sent to several other federal agencies such as the Interior Department. “I ask that you provide me any information that is submitted to the Select Committee.” His requests have been met with radio silence across the Biden administration.
“In other words, even the committee knows that its power to seek this information about private citizens lacks any convincing legal justification and, for that reason, wants to ensure that nobody has the ability to seek a judicial ruling on the legality of their actions,” wrote civil libertarian and journalist Glenn Greenwald.
Republicans want to know why the Capitol had faulty riot shields during the attack, why the national guard was called late, why the national guard took three hours to arrive once they were called, and why the FBI did not warn of a potential threat until the night before on Jan. 5.
Pelosi’s Committee, however, has refused to hear testimony from a whistleblower within the Capitol Police as her weaponized probe focuses on private citizen exercise of First Amendment freedoms.
Read more here: https://thefederalist.com/2021/10/27/exclusive-biden-fbi-joins-pelosi-in-blocking-gop-from-investigating-january-6/
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