House Hearing With Capitol Architect Further Shows Intel Lapse Before Insurrection

February 24, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 08: U.S. Capitol Police salute after raising the American flag to half-staff at the U.S. Capitol on January 08, 2021 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the building's flags... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 08: U.S. Capitol Police salute after raising the American flag to half-staff at the U.S. Capitol on January 08, 2021 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the building's flags be flown at half-staff in honor of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, who died after being injured during clashes with a pro-Trump mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Sicknick, a military veteran, was a 12-year member of the force. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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February 24, 2021

Capitol Architect Brett Blanton testified to House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Legislative Branch that he was not informed of the FBI’s intel on Trump extremists’ plans to storm the Capitol on January 6, nor was he directed to beef up physical barriers on the campus ahead of the attack.

Blanton is a member of the Capitol Police board with the US Capitol police chief and the two Sergeant-at-arms of the House and Senate. As such, most of the subcommittee’s questions were directed at him and what he knew about the threat of the insurrection before it occurred.

Besides Blanton, the witnesses included House Curator Farar Elliott and and Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindo.

The testimonies also tamped down on certain concerns regarding the extent to which the insurrection was pre-planned: Blanton told lawmakers that he hasn’t seen “any indication” that the attackers had access to the Capitol floor plans, and Szpindo said that her cybersecurity office didn’t see an attempt to breach the Capitol’s online network that day or any other time that could be tied to the insurrection.

The hearing was aimed at examining the damage inflicted upon the Capitol building during the siege, along with the wellness of the Capitol employees who were there.

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Capitol Architect Brett Blanton testified to House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Legislative Branch that he was not informed of the FBI’s intel on Trump extremists’ plans to storm the Capitol on January 6, nor was he directed to beef up physical barriers on the campus ahead of the attack.

Blanton is a member of the Capitol Police board with the US Capitol police chief and the two Sergeant-at-arms of the House and Senate. As such, most of the subcommittee’s questions were directed at him and what he knew about the threat of the insurrection before it occurred.

Besides Blanton, the witnesses included House Curator Farar Elliott and and Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindo.

The testimonies also tamped down on certain concerns regarding the extent to which the insurrection was pre-planned: Blanton told lawmakers that he hasn’t seen “any indication” that the attackers had access to the Capitol floor plans, and Szpindo said that her cybersecurity office didn’t see an attempt to breach the Capitol’s online network that day or any other time that could be tied to the insurrection.

The hearing was aimed at examining the damage inflicted upon the Capitol building during the siege, along with the wellness of the Capitol employees who were there.

Notable Replies

  1. When it comes to the GQPers, the mental damage was already there.

  2. The Capitol security operations must be a supreme clusterf++k behind the scenes, although it’s all out in the open now. How in the hell there aren’t people within the agencies specifically tasked with monitoring all the social media and dark web postings of a long list of known or suspected domestic terrorist organizations is appalling. On what effing planet is “We never saw it coming” a remotely goddamned acceptable explanation for Jan 6th? And why the hell is it testified to that intel was passed to people, but those people deny ever receiving it? Isn’t a system set up where receipt has to be acknowledged, and if that acknowledgement isn’t received it’s followed up on? “Did you get that goddamned warning? Yes or no? Oh, you didn’t, well here it is again. I expect an email acknowledging it. Read it. It’s serious. It’s your ass if you don’t act on it. Got that?”

    WTF?

  3. Avatar for buck buck says:

    When it comes to the GQPers, the mental damage was already there.

    If the salt hath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?

  4. The House participants are talking to CongressCritters who are down with 500,000 COVID deaths (nearly all attributed to Donald Trump)…and want to give Trump the Election by force.

    Why would they give a damn about Mental Health Impact of the Trump-Caused Capitol Insurrection?

  5. GQP response? We don’t need no stinkin’ mental health!

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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