‘No business leading any security review,’ Hawley says of retired general probing riot
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley escalated his criticism of a retired Army general probing Jan. 6 attack during a Tuesday Senate hearing.
Hawley’s participation in the hearing on the Capitol security breakdown was closely watched as the Missouri senator continues to face backlash for his actions in the lead-up to the riot at the Capitol last month.
As a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Hawley had the opportunity Tuesday to question the former leaders of the officers in charge of Capitol security. He used it to rebut criticism lodged against them by the retired Army officer who House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped to lead a review of the attack, Lt. General Russel Honoré.
Honoré said in an MSNBC interview last month— prior to his appointment— that the head of the Capitol Police and the sergeants at arms for the House and Senate had committed actions that give the “appearance of complicity” in the attack, including their failure to mobilize the National Guard ahead of the riot.
Hawley asked all three men, all of whom have stepped down from their positions, if they had been complicit.
“Absolutely not,” responded former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. “I’ve heard those comments and I think it’s disrespectful to myself and the members of the Capitol Police Department.”
Hawley agreed and launched into a critique of Honoré.
“Of course none of you were. There’s absolutely no evidence to that effect... And to allege that any of you were complicit were in this violent mob attack on this building I think is not only extremely disrespectful, it’s really quite shocking. And this person has no business leading any security review related to the events of Jan. 6,” Hawley said.
Before his line of questioning about Honoré, Hawley had pressed Sund and former House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving about their contradictory testimony regarding the failure to mobilize the D.C. National Guard ahead of Jan 6.
Sund maintained that he requested the guard’s mobilization two days before the riot, but Irving disputed that and testified that the three agreed the intelligence did not warrant mobilization.
Hawley’s rejection of the notion that these decisions amount to complicity in the attack is an indirect way to defend his own actions leading up to Jan. 6.
Hawley was the first senator to announce plans to contest President Joe Biden’s electoral victory, a move his critics say contributed to the atmosphere that resulted in the attack on the Capitol by a crowd of former President Donald Trump’s supporters. He was also photographed raising fist in solidarity with the pro-Trump crowd earlier in the day.
In addition to criticizing the Capitol security leaders, Honoré said on Twitter in January that Hawley should be “run out of DC and disbarred,” one of several social media posts that have led Republicans to question his impartiality in the probe.
Pelosi’s office has dismissed the criticism of Honoré’s selection, saying in a statement last week that the retired general is a “committed public servant whose name is synonymous with integrity and professionalism.”
Shortly after Hawley had concluded his questions, Vote Vets, a Democratic-leaning group that seeks to elect military veterans, posted the photo with text labeling Hawley a “TRAITOR,” on Twitter.
“Don’t think we forgot,” the group said.
The dramatic hearing began with testimony of a Missouri native, Capitol Police Captain Carneysha Mendoza, who described how rioters sprayed police with gas and threw projectiles at them during the chaos.
Hawley praised the police who faced “these criminal rioters, these violent criminals, to repulse them from the Capitol and secure this space,” and gave particular thanks to Mendoza.
“I want thank her for being here today, but also for her incredible bravery and courage on Jan. 6. And behalf of the entire state of Missouri, I want to thank you for what you have done. Thank you for what you represent,” Hawley said.
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 2:25 PM.
