National Guard General Testifies About SecDef's 'Unusual' Limits On 1-6
Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the D.C. National Guard commander, testified to the Homeland Security committee yesterday he did not receive approval to send troops during the Jan. 6th insurrection until more than three hours after he had requested it. Via the New York Times:
He said he had received a “frantic call” at 1:49 p.m. from Steven A. Sund, then the chief of the Capitol Police, about half an hour before rioters breached the Capitol.
“Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency at the Capitol,” General Walker testified. “He requested the immediate assistance of as many available National Guardsmen that I could muster.”
He said he had immediately alerted Army leaders and even put troops on buses “ready to move to the Capitol.” But Mr. (Christopher) Miller did not approve the request until 3:04 p.m., after military officials had expressed their concerns about optics. General Walker did not receive word that Pentagon officials had authorized his request until 5:08 p.m. — three hours and 19 minutes after he had received Chief Sund’s plea.
He testified that Mike Flynn's brother (who officials originally insisted was not on the call) and Gen. Piatt were concerned about the optics of sending the Guard, and said he thought there was a double standard that only applied to Black Lives Matter protests.