Outgoing Capitol Police chief: House, Senate security officials hamstrung efforts to call in NG

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Jake Tapper
@jaketapper
WaPo: Outgoing Capitol Police chief: House, Senate security officials hamstrung efforts to call in National Guard

Outgoing Capitol Police chief: House, Senate security officials hamstrung efforts to call in...
Even as rioters violently overran his forces, Steven Sund said in an exclusive interview, the sergeants at arms for the House and Senate took more than an hour to approve his request.
washingtonpost.com
8:47 PM · Jan 10, 2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sund-riot-national-guard/2021/01/10/fc2ce7d4-5384-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html

Two days before Congress was set to formalize President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund was growing increasingly worried about the size of the pro-Trump crowds expected to stream into Washington in protest.

To be on the safe side, Sund asked House and Senate security officials for permission to request that the D.C. National Guard be placed on standby in case he needed quick backup.

But, Sund said Sunday, they turned him down.

In his first interview since pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, Sund, who has since resigned his post, said his supervisors were reluctant to take formal steps to put the Guard on call even as police intelligence suggested that the crowd President Trump had invited to Washington to protest his defeat probably would be much larger than earlier demonstrations.

House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving said he wasn’t comfortable with the “optics” of formally declaring an emergency ahead of the demonstration, Sund said. Meanwhile, Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger suggested that Sund should informally seek out his Guard contacts, asking them to “lean forward” and be on alert in case Capitol Police needed their help.

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[comradebillyboy]

1. The plot thickens...

[Blue Owl]

2. Suspicious as hell...

[soothsayer]

3. Names?

[Nevilledog]

5. This about one of them....Stenger

Link to tweet

Hmmm.....VA home, NV home, apt at the Watergate. Sergeant at Arms must pay an enormous salary.

[soothsayer]

10. Oh, they're capitol police people. Not really house and senate people

...in the way I was thinking

[DeminPennswoods]

4. No wonder Schumer said he's fire Stenger

before both Stenger and Irving resigned.

[Phoenix61]

6. Wow! Just wow. What a huge mess.

Interesting his perspective that the vans were to draw law enforcement away from the Capital building.

[Jarqui]

7. Democrat Maxine Waters warned the chief of police 4 days before

Link to tweet

The DC Mayor called for the National Guard before the event
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/d-c-mayor-calls-national-guard-pro-trump-protests-set-n1252800

I do not trust what this guy is saying

[StarfishSaver]

8. Wow. This was a mess

It sounds like the Capitol Police chief was undermined - and then blamed when he and the DC police chief were begging for help and ignored by the Defense Department. And the sergeants-at-arms were no help.

[Blues Heron]

9. Optics - I wonder how they like the optics now?

[Tommymac]

11. Something smells. His statements and actions don't fit earlier widely reported facts.

He turned down help that was offered twice in the days leading up to 106.

Several of the good officers interviewed over the last few days seemed happy that the leadership was being changed.

If he was that concerned why did he direct the men it was just going to be another day?

He could have expressed his concern by bringing in all hands and putting 500 or so in full riot gear and had them wait out of sight until needed.

[pecosbob]

12. CYA just like DoD tried to pull

He was the one obstructing the response...that's why he was put there in the first place.