Two former top D.C. National Guard officials claim an internal Army report on its response to the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol is loaded with lies, Politico reported.
The March 18 report obtained by the news outlet says National Guard members weren’t prepared to respond quickly to the attack — and describes communications between top Army officials and the D.C. Guard’s commander, then-Maj. Gen. William Walker.
But Walker, now sergeant at arms in the House, told Politico some of those communications described in the report never happened. He and a former top lawyer for the D.C. Guard, Col. Earl Matthews, also told Politico that D.C. Guard members were ready to be deployed to the Capitol.
"It’s whole fiction," Matthews, who has accused two Army generals of lying to Congress about their role in the Jan. 6 response, told Politico. Matthews was on a call with leaders from the Capitol Police and the Army during the siege, Politico reported.
The Army report’s narrative comes days after a memo surfaced — first reported by Politico — that Matthews wrote pushing back against senior Army leaders’ version of the Jan. 6 events.
Matthews alleges the Army report is an attempt to whitewash the Army’s record on Jan. 6 and shift blame to the Capitol Police and D.C. Guard leaders, Politico reported.
"The inability of law enforcement officials to clearly communicate the task for the [Guard’s Quick Response Force] further delayed planning and executing a faster response from the DCNG [D.C. National Guard]," the Army report reads.
The Army report also says members of the D.C. Guard were only ready to provide backup to police officers — and weren’t ready for what was about to happen. Yet those soldiers brought riot gear with them and stored it in their vehicles, Politico reported.
"The Guardsmen who were stationed at traffic-control points that day had civil disturbance gear that includes a shield, a vest, helmet, baton, shin guards," Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Brooks with the D.C. Guard told Politico. "The leadership of the D.C. National Guard took it upon themselves to make sure equipment was readily available."
The D.C. Guard members were fully trained as well, Matthews told Politico.
The Army report also describes multiple exchanges between top Pentagon officials and Walker about the D.C. Guard’s response to the riot. In one instance, Politico reported, the report says at 2:25 p.m., Walker was asked how quickly the D.C. Guard’s Quick Response Force could respond. Walker said it would be ready to go in 20 minutes, the report says, according to Politico.
But Walker told Politico that conversation never happened. He also said two other Jan. 6 exchanges the Army report cites also never occurred.
The report also says that as soon as Army senior leaders were told how bad things were getting at the Capitol, they "worked relentlessly" to understand the situation, "plan the new mission" of the D.C. National Guard and get acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller to approve the mission.
"I didn’t need them to create a plan for me, and I still haven’t seen this plan they created," Walker said. "Where’s the plan?"
Walker told Politico his plan was simple: Get as many equipped D.C. Guard members as possible to the Capitol, have them take direction from police there and restore order.
"And that’s exactly what the D.C. National Guard did," he told Politico.