Whistleblower Slams Capitol Police Leaders for Jan. 6 'Failures' — And Alleged Lies
Capitol Police officer at barricades before Trump supporters' riot on Jan. 6, 2021
Reprinted with permission from AlterNet
Nine months have passed since the January 6 insurrection, and new reporting continues to emerge about that event. According to NBC News reporters Julie Tsirkin and Teaganne Finn, a Capitol Police whistleblower recently sent a letter to members of Congress "accusing the agency's two senior leaders of mishandling intelligence surrounding the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol."
Tsirkin and Finn report, "In the letter, obtained by NBC News, the whistleblower accused Sean Gallagher, the USCP's acting chief of uniformed operations, and Yogananda Pittman, its assistant chief of police for protective and intelligence operations, of significant 'failures' in the lead-up to and aftermath of the attack. The whistleblower accused Gallagher and Pittman of failing to take appropriate action 'which directly contributed to the deaths and wounding of officers and civilians.'"
The letter was addressed to a combination of Democrats and Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Tsirkin and Finn report that in response to the letter, USCP wrote, "Although there is more work to do, many of the problems described in the letter have been addressed. USCP leaders, under new Chief Tom Manger, are committed to learning from prior mistakes and protecting our brave officers, who fought valiantly on January 6, so we can continue to carry out the Department's critical mission."
The whistleblower's criticism of Capitol Police leadership had previously been reported in Politico.
On October 8, Daniel Lippman and Betsy Woodruff Swan of Politico reported, "The whistleblower accused Gallagher and Pittman of failing to take appropriate action 'which directly contributed to the deaths and wounding of officers and civilians.' They also accused Pittman, who was the agency's acting chief from January 6 to July 23, of lying to Congress about having sent 'the single most critical' intelligence report to other USCP staff the day before the attack. The whistleblower said the report was never shared."
According to Lippman and Swan, "The whistleblower accuses Gallagher and Pittman of deliberately choosing not to help officers under attack on January 6 and alleges that Pittman lied to Congress about an intelligence report Capitol Police received before that day's riot. After a lengthy career in the department, the whistleblower was a senior official on duty on January 6.
