00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for your careers of distinguished service.
00:07The DC National Guardsmen are known as the capital guardians.
00:11And we as members are only able to do our jobs in the days and
00:15months that followed January 6th because you stood guard over us as you did.
00:19And for that, and for all of your long service, we owe you enormous debt of gratitude.
00:25So thank you.
00:27I want to be clear, we're here today for a single reason.
00:32An unpatriotic, cynical, power hungry man incited a deadly insurrection
00:39as part of his months long effort to overturn a free and fair American election.
00:44We're here because of his lies about the 2020 election.
00:49It's hard to believe, it's frankly even hard to say, but it doesn't make it any less true.
00:56Many cannot bring themselves to acknowledge it, many in this room.
01:01As a result, we're here because of the majority's 15 month
01:07quixotic mission to find malfeasance from the January 6th select committee who investigated the insurrection.
01:15Where no malfeasance exists.
01:17And frankly, just as a question of jurisdiction should be raised,
01:22if this hearing is about the chain of command and or
01:27communication between the various elements of the defense apparatus of the United States,
01:33then it falls to the House Armed Services Committee to do that investigation.
01:38They should be doing it, I do agree, but this is clearly not the venue for this to happen.
01:44I do want to address something at the outset.
01:47There is a notion that persists that President Trump ordered or pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops ahead of January 6th.
01:55It's been debunked repeatedly, and it's also a red hearing, and here's why.
02:00As the chair has stated, a 1969 executive order delegated authority of the DC National Guard to the Secretary of Defense,
02:07who in turn delegated that authority to the Secretary of the Army.
02:11But the President of the United States ultimately sits atop the chain of command.
02:15What he did with the National Guard before January 6th doesn't matter compared to his actions,
02:20or I should say inactions, on the 6th of January itself.
02:25And what he never did on the 6th was call the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army,
02:30or the DC National Guard itself to find out why they were not on the scene or
02:35to order them to the Capitol for that three hour and 19 minute delay.
02:39So I want to quickly dispense with the claim once and for all that he'd ordered 10,000 troops, as he has said.
02:45Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller was asked the following questions and provided the following answers under penalty of perjury.
02:52First question, the 10,000 troops, did you take that as a request for you or
02:57an order for you to deploy 10,000 troops, his answer, and I quote, no, absolutely not.
03:03I interpret it as a bit of presidential banner or President Trump banner that you're all familiar with.
03:09And in no way, shape, or form did I interpret that as an order or direction.
03:12He was also asked, in February of 2021, Mark Meadows said on Fox News that, quote,
03:19even in January, that was a given as many as 10,000 National Guard troops were told to be on the ready by the Secretary of Defense.
03:27Is there any accuracy to that statement?
03:30Mr. Meadows' answer, not from my perspective, I was never given any direction or order or knew of any plans of that nature.
03:36So no, there was obviously we had plans for activating more folks, but that was not anything more than contingency planning.
03:43And then a few questions later, to be crystal clear, the question was,
03:47there was no direct order from President Trump to put 10,000 troops to be on the ready for January 6th, is that correct?
03:54His answer, quote, that's correct, there was no direct order, there was no order from the President.
04:00I think that's all you need to know.
04:01Under oath, the Secretary of Defense said it never happened.
04:04Here's the bottom line.
04:06The President of the United States manipulated his followers into believing the election was stolen from him,
04:11summoned an armed mob to Washington, and then unleashed them on the United States Capitol.
04:18And then did absolutely nothing to stop what unfolded.
04:22People died, we almost lost our democracy.
04:26We could have 100 hearings to deflect blame, but the facts are not going to change.
04:32President Truman famously had a sign on his desk that said, the buck stops here.
04:37President Trump's sign, on the other hand, would read, the buck stops anywhere but here.
04:42He lit the fire, he fanned the flames, the Defense Department delayed the troops, and he wants everyone else to take the blame.
04:48Frankly, I find it pathetic.
04:50I agree with Senator Mitch McConnell, who said former President Trump's actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty.
04:58Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Trump bears responsibility for his actions, no ifs, ands, or buts.
05:05And I agree with Senator Lindsey Graham, who said, all I can say is, count me out, enough is enough.
05:10I only wish that they, and the rest of the Republican Party, agreed with their prior versions of themselves.
05:16And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Comments