In a heated exchange, Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, pressed Rowe about the individual who determined that the AGR building should be left outside of the security perimeter, urging that the individual should be relieved of duty. Rowe said they are still cooperating with an investigation and the agency would let it play out.
“Senator, you’re zeroing in on one particular agent, I want to find out exactly what was the decision process,” Rowe said, saying he wanted to remain neutral until they can determine who may have “exercised bad judgment.”
“My question is, why don’t you relieve everybody of duty who made bad judgment?” Hawley continued. “I’m trying to find somebody who’s accountable here.”
Hawley ran down a list of individuals who may have made key decisions before the attack, repeatedly asking whether they had been relieved from duty by the agency.
“What more do you need to investigate to know that there were critical enough failures that some individuals ought to be held accountable?” Hawley pressed.
Rowe explained that he needs to know the extent of what happened and let his investigators continue with their efforts, saying that Hawley is asking him to “make a rush to judgment about somebody failing.”
“Sir, this could have been our Texas Schoolbook Depository. I have lost sleep over that for the last 17 days, just like you have,” Rowe said, his voice rising. “And I will tell you, senator, that I will not rush to judgment, that people will be held accountable with integrity, and not rush to judgment and [have] people unfairly persecuted.”
Rowe did agree with Hawley on one point, saying “this was a failure and we will get to the bottom of it.”