Lawmakers want accountability from Capitol Police. But for years, they also rebuffed transparency efforts [Los Angeles Times]
The riotous assault on the U.S. Capitol that left five dead and nearly paralyzed the federal government has spurred congressional leaders to demand a “robust” inquiry into the “mind-boggling” failure of national security.
“They could have blown the place up. They could have killed us all,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters this week as he demanded answers.
Yet congressional leaders need not look far for accountability. Congress itself is both client and overseer of the U.S Capitol Police a secretive agency whose procedures and actions have been kept under wraps for decades by lawmakers themselves.
How the U.S. Capitol Police were overrun in a monumental security failure
Peter Hermann, Carol D. Leonnig, Aaron C. Davis and David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post
Jan. 7, 2021
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WASHINGTON - Inside the U.S. Capitol, the rioters were in charge.
Trump supporters were roaming freely, carrying off furniture. Capitol Police had not asked other law enforcement agencies for help until their building was surrounded by a mob seeking to overturn the election results. Now, their officers were exhausted and injured. Their chief was down the street, in the department command center, and a police commander on the scene was pacing in a circle. Top congressional leaders, hidden in secure rooms, were calling the governors of Maryland and Virginia directly to plead for help.
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