Rep. Loudermilk Highlights DoD IG Report Flaws, Sets Record Straight on January 6, 2021 National Guard Delay

Washington D.C. (September 25, 2024) | This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Chairman of the House Administration Committee's Oversight Subcommittee, held time on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he highlighted the flaws within the DoD IG's report of the events of January 6, 2021.

TOP TAKEAWAYS:

President Trump ordered Senior DoD leaders to "make sure it was safe," a directive which they ignored.

In newly obtained DoD IG transcripts, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, specifically recalled a conversation between the Acting Secretary of Defense, Chris Miller, and President Trump, where the President gave directives for them to ENSURE they had "sufficient National Guard or Active duty soldiers to make it a safe event" and to "do whatever you have to do, just make sure it's safe."

In turn, President Trump was told by Secretary Miller that they had a plan, and they'll have it covered. DESPITE this directive from the President, Miller, in his DoD IG interview, dismissed it, stating: "I interpreted it as President Trump banter."

According to D.C. National Guard Commanding General William Walker, had he been present at this meeting, he would have interpreted the President's directive with greater urgency. And yet, these facts were HIDDEN from the American public for years by this Administration.

The January 6 Select Committee claimed that he wanted the chaos, they pushed that he called for an insurrection, but nothing could be further from the truth.

DoD Officials were concerned about the "optics" of having soldiers at the Capitol.

Director of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General Walter Piatt later would say: "was optics a concern for us as we prepared to use soldiers downtown in Washington D.C? Absolutely."

As "optics" concerns were being discussed and Secretary McCarthy claimed he was 'developing a plan', the D.C. National Guard was ready to move, less than 2 miles from the Capitol - awaiting Secretary McCarthy's authorization. During these crucial hours, Secretary McCarthy stated a concept of operations plan or "CONOP" was being developed - yet McCarthy never communicated with the Capitol Police nor D.C. National Guard

What's more, the National Guard already had a plan. Secretary McCarthy had previously observed rehearsals of the National Guard executing a Civil Disturbance mission. Therefore, McCarthy used this CONOP as a delay tactic as he knew that the D.C. National Guard was prepared to execute this mission.

Over 2 hours were wasted to allegedly develop his "plan," and to this day, his CONOP has never been produced. Why has no one, including the DoD IG, seen this alleged "plan?" You don't have to be the Secretary of the Army to see this for what it was: a way to delay the deployment of the National Guard-who was ready and waiting less than two miles from the Capitol.

The DoD IG knew there were inconsistencies in their report, and published it anyways.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy was asked specifically about his actions following Miller's 3:04pm order by the Select Committee, multiple Senate Committees, and the DoD IG. When asked by the DoD IG in March 2021, Secretary McCarthy stated that one of his staff conveyed the order to deploy to the DC National Guard within minutes of Miller's verbal order.

The DOD IG report alleged that McCarthy personally conveyed this order to deploy within minutes without explanation or providing evidence to support this assertion. Major General Walker, the DC National Guard Commanding General has consistently refuted that any order was relayed at 3:04pm.

Almost one year later in testimony to the Select Committee, McCarthy testified that he completed his "CONOP" around 4:35pm and called Sec Def Miller and received his approval. In testimony to the Select Committee when asked about the 4:35pm call McCarthy finally admitted that he never directly spoke to Major General Walker at 4:35pm.

Instead, Secretary McCarthy changed his story and told the Select Committee that a member of his staff who "had the authority to speak as the Secretary of the Army" was communicating with the D.C. National Guard on his behalf on January 6. This revision to his previous version of events is significant. The individual McCarthy claimed made this call "on his behalf" testified to the DoD IG that it was Secretary McCarthy who conveyed the order at 4:35pm.

Let me pause here. The conflicting testimony raises serious doubts about the actions of numerous senior DoD officials failing to follow direct orders resulting in the delayed deployment of the DC National Guard. The ONLY reason Congress is now aware of these significant conflicting versions of events is because of the courageous DC National Guardsmen who testified in front of my Subcommittee, AND because my Subcommittee forced the DoD IG to produce the witness interviews revealing these conflicting versions of events which I've now shared publicly.

As Secretary McCarthy's story changed, it started to align with Major General Walker's testimony. Yet the DoD IG report alleged that General Walker's congressional testimony was untrue or "mischaracterized" without any evidence to support an allegation that Walker committed perjury.

Whistleblowers alerted to the flaws in the DoD IG report.

In April 2024, members of the National Guard came forward as Whistleblowers to set the record straight. Risking their own careers, these Whistleblowers came forward to ensure the name and reputation of the men and women of the National Guard would not be tarnished.

The D.C. National Guard is the only military organization within the Department of Defense over which the President of the United States has direct and immediate command authority. The President's command authority has been delegated to the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Defense has further delegated operational control of the D.C. National Guard to the Secretary of the Army.

On January 6, 2021, the D.C. National Guard reported to the Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy. On January 5, Secretary McCarthy, took it upon himself to place unprecedented restrictions on the D.C. National Guard to prevent any movement to the Capitol without his explicit permission.

This tied the hands of the National Guard and placed sole tactical and operational command of their movements in the hands of McCarthy.

To watch Rep. Loudermilk's full remarks on the U.S. House floor, click here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxKeEJlVnrw