Pentagon Cover-Up? House Probe Exposes Delayed National Guard Response on January 6

After a thorough investigation, the Subcommittee uncovered evidence substantiating that the Department of Defense intentionally delayed the deployment of the D.C. National Guard to the Capitol on January 6, 2021. In addition, the DoD IG concealed the extent and cause of the delay to protect Department of Defense and Pentagon leadership. The Subcommittee found multiple instances where the DoD IG failed to disclose evidence that contradicted the DoD IG’s erroneous conclusion. 
 
The DoD IG’s report reflects an alarming failure to adequately evaluate the actions of senior DoD officials, including Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, who failed to communicate deployment orders to Major General William Walker, the Commander of the DCNG on January 6.
 
“My Subcommittee worked with the DoD IG in good faith throughout our investigation to provide multiple opportunities for the DOD IG to produce corroborating materials or evidence to support their conclusions,” said Chairman Loudermilk. “Unfortunately, the DoD IG continues to promote an inaccurate narrative that protects senior Pentagon officials and attempts to cast fault on the D.C. National Guard, who were ready and waiting less than 2 miles from the Capitol but unable to respond on January 6 due to lack of communication from the Secretary of the Army.” 
 
“My Subcommittee released transcripts that show that not only were political concerns of ‘optics’ at play, but that DoD officials continued to delay as the riot at the Capitol worsened. The evidence is conclusive: DoD officials misled Congress into believing that help was ‘on the way’ with full knowledge that it wasn’t.”Watch never-before-seen video footage from HBO, showing the Secretary of the Army’s false statements to Congressional leadership. At 3:18pm, Secretary McCarthy tells sheltering Members of Congress that he is not blocking deployment of the National Guard and, while referencing the D.C. National Guard, shares that “We have the greenlight. We are moving”. However, the Secretary of the Army’s own timeline indicates that the DCNG did not physically leave the Armory until 17:00 [5pm] 

Excerpts from the letter read: 

Given the D.C. National Guard’s history of success supporting both the Federal Government and the City Government in responding to civil unrest, and the significant role the Guard played in ensuring the safety and security of Members of Congress at the Capitol on January 6, it is essential that Report No. 2022-039 accurately reflect objective facts so that we can identify the serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies to recommend corrective actions consistent with the Inspector General Act of 19782. Throughout the Subcommittee’s extensive investigation into the failures of January 6, 2021, we have discovered numerous flaws and objective inaccuracies in the report that your office has yet to appropriately address.
…In March of 2021, D.C. National Guard Major General William Walker testified before Congress that the Guard’s response to the Capitol on January 6 was delayed by senior DoD officials. In April of 2024, Colonel Earl Matthews, Major General Walker’s legal advisor, Command Sergeant Major Michael Brooks, Major General Walker’s Senior Enlisted Officer, Brigadier General Aarond Dean, Major General Walker’s Adjutant General, and Captain Timothy Nick, Major General Walker’s Aide-De-Camp, testified before Congress that the Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, was not in communication with the Guard and that their response to the Capitol was “most certainly delayed [by the Army].”4 These key DCNG personnel were intentionally not included as witnesses by the DoD IG.5 The Subcommittee is deeply concerned that the DoD IG’s failure to interview witnesses who testify to an account of events on January 6 which are contradictory to the report’s conclusions, erode any suggestion that this report is correct or unbiased.
…A report that includes biased and incomplete statements to favor the Department of Defense and U.S. Army while disparaging the D.C. National Guard fails to represent the DoD IG’s philosophy and practice of producing unbiased, objective, impartial, and independent reviews as well as recommendations grounded in evidence and free from external influence.19 Therefore, we are left with no choice but to reject Report No. 2022-039 and request that you publish a formal correction on behalf of the 10,43220 21 congressional staff members and 535 Members of Congress who donned gas masks and retreated from their Chambers while the DCNG sat on buses waiting, less than 2 miles from the Capitol at the D.C. Armory, for communication from Secretary Ryan McCarthy.

Read the full letter here.

On November 16, 2021, the DoD IG released a report titled, “Review of the Department of Defense’s Role, Responsibilities, and Actions to Prepare for and Respond to the Protest and its Aftermath at the U.S. Capitol Campus on January 6, 2021,” otherwise known as DODIG-2022-039. This report was the final product of the DoD IG’s investigation into the events of January 6, 2021.

Throughout our investigation, our Subcommittee has found significant irregularities in the DoD IG report, including statements attributed to witnesses who subsequently informed the Subcommittee that the witness did not make these statements, as well as glaring inconsistencies regarding the deployment of the D.C. National Guard (DCNG). From our review of phone records, timelines, firsthand accounts, sworn testimonies, and after-action reports, there is considerable evidence pointing to an intentional delay at the DoD in either deploying the National Guard, or communicating the deployment order. To address the communication and security gaps experienced on January 6, 2021 between the DoD and Congress, the Subcommittee continues to pursue the transparency the American people deserve.