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Senate Holds First Hearing on Insurrection at U.S. Capitol. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired February 23, 2021 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWSROOM: Right now, the first hearing on the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection is about to begin right there at the scene of the crime on Capitol Hill.

[10:00:08]

Lawmakers are looking to uncover exactly why there was such an incredible and widespread failure of security during that attack on January 6th.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: These four law enforcement officials will soon be taking the tough questions from the House and Senate sergeant at arms, both of them former, we'll actually have the former chief of the Capitol Police and the head of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, as well, Robert Contee.

But let's begin though with Shimon Prokupecz on Capitol Hill. Shimon, a lot of big questions here. All of those people testifying are going to get hard questions about their own role in this. You're hearing there is going to be some finger pointing.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems that right now based on the information that we have that there could be finger pointing in different directions. But, Jim and Poppy, we just received the opening statements from the people who are going to be testifying.

And for the first time, we are hearing from one of those people, Paul Irving, he is the House sergeant at arms, the former now, who essentially is part of the team that is in charge of securing the Capitol and he is defending his actions that day, as well as the others.

And what he was saying in this opening statement, what he intends to say is that they have no intelligence to indicate that anyone was going to try and overtake the Capitol. In this opening statement is what he says. Let me read it to you exactly what he says. He says, for each of the days leading up to January 6th and indeed on January 6th itself, the Capitol Police issued a daily intelligence report in which it assessed the potential for this civil disobedience and arrest as remote to improbable.

So what he's essentially saying there obviously is that there was no intelligence to say that this mob was going to attack the Capitol. The other things we're also getting the opening statement from the former Capitol Police chief, Steven Sund, and, interestingly, he is defending his actions on that day saying that they were prepared. Based on all of the information they had, they were prepared for the day. He also said they've had several meetings leading up to it.

But he also says that he went to Paul Irving and he said, in the days leading up to the -- up to January 6th, he says that he asked him, should we call up the National Guard. And he says that Paul Irving told him that he was concerned about the optics of having the National Guard there in place on the Capitol.

So it is going to be interesting to see how this plays out at this hearing, because Sund here, the former chief, is not holding back. He has a list by list, he goes time to time of the times that he went asking for National Guard and the conversation.

SCIUTTO: Shimon, hold that thought because the hearing is kicking off here, the Senate joint hearing looking into security failures January 6th, let's listen in.

(SENATE JOINT HEARING - JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): -- this joint meeting hearing today. I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us today and four your service to our country. For many Americans, this will be the first opportunity to hear about what happened in the Capitol on January 6th directly from our witnesses.

We appreciate your willingness to work with our committees, to examine the breakdowns that allowed this terrible attack to occur and to ensure that an attack like this can never, ever happen again.

This hearing is unique because it is personal for everyone involved. And I'm grateful to our witnesses, colleagues, staff, Capitol police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police and the National Guard units who continue to assist in protecting the Capitol today, and for all of the hard work that allows this very important discussion to begin.

So I would like to once again thank Chairwoman Klobuchar for your partnership and for your leadership and look forward to your opening remarks.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Thank you very much, Chairman Peters, and good morning. Thank you to our witnesses for being here today for this first joint hearing of the Rules Committee and the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee as we work to conduct oversight into what happened in the lead up and during the horrific events of January 6th.

Thank you to Chairman Peters and also Ranking Member Portman, as well as my good friend, Senator Blunt, who I look forward to continue working with on the Rules Committee in this Congress.

I think it is important to note that we planned this entire hearing on a bipartisan basis. That is because of the stakes are so high and we want this, and I say this to our witnesses as well, who are all appearing here voluntarily.

[10:05:04]

I think it is important for the members to know that and we thank them for doing that. We want this to be as constructive as possible. Because in order to figure out the solutions so this doesn't happen again, we must have the facts. And the answers are in this room.

When an angry violent mob staged an if insurrection on January 6th and desecrated our Capitol, the temple of our democracy, it was not just an attack on the building, it was an attack on our republic itself. We are here today to better understand what was known in advance, what steps were taken to secure the Capitol and what occurred that day, because we want to ensure that nothing like this happens again.

Each of our witnesses held a leadership role at the time of the attack. Acting Chief Robert Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department, of the District of Columbia, Mr. Steven Sund, former chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, who is here with us in person today, Mr. Michael Stenger, former Senate sergeant at arms, and Mr. Paul Irving, former House sergeant at arms. The other witnesses are here as of our witnesses do via video.

To our witnesses, your testimony is vital and thank you again for coming. At the same time, this is certainly not the last hearing that we will have regarding this attack. Next week, we will hear from witnesses from federal agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense that are critical to our understanding.

The insurrection at the Capitol was more than an assault on democracy. It was an actual life or death situation for the many brave law enforcement officers who show up here to do their work every day. And at the beginning of this testimony, we will hear from one of them.

We will never forget the haunting shrieks of the police officer pinned in between the doors at the hands of the rioters pleading for help.

We will never forget Officer Harry Dunn who fought against the violent mob for hours and after it was over broke down in tears, telling fellow officers he had been called the N word 15 times that day. He asked, is this America?

Our Officer Eugene Goodman who, after saving Senator Romney from walking, who is here with us today, thank you, Senator Romney, from walking directly into the mob, ran by himself to take on a group of rioters, and then Eugene Goodman diverted that mob away from the Senate chamber allowing us to safely depart.

Tragically, the attack on the Capitol cost the lives of three brave officers, including Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries sustained while engaging with protesters. Two other officers died by suicide following the event of January 6th, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith and U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebingood. Officer Liebingood, or Howie to those who knew him, worked the Delaware door of the Russell Senate Office Building, someone who I've seen at the door way and greeted me and everyone with a warm smile. It has been reported that 140 U.S. Capitol police officers sustained injuries from defending the Capitol.

The courage of these officers will be remembered forever but there are still many voices that we have not heard in the stories of January 6, including the many staff who make sure we have food in our cafeteria and water and heat in our building.

One janitorial worker hid during attack in a closet. Another custodial staff member reflected on how terrible he felt when he had to clean up feces and had been speared on the wall saying, I felt bad, I felt degraded.

These dedicated workers were here too when the Capitol was attacked as were many committed journalists who report on our work to the American people.

To make this place safe going forward, we must answer some key questions. First and foremost, on many of our minds is what took so long to deploy the National Guard that day, both because of decisions made in the Capitol complex but also by others in the federal government. We must find out what was known about the potential for violence before the attack and how that intelligence was shared with law enforcement partners, including the officials responsible for protecting the Capitol.

There are also important questions to be asked about how information concerning those threats was communicated to rank and file officers. And it is vital that we explore necessary reforms to the structure of the Capitol police board, which I know we will hear more about today.

We owe it to the 140 Capitol Police officers injured and to all those at the Capitol who continue to suffer the repercussions. We owe it to the officer beaten by the violent rioters because he literally placed his body in the doorway to protect us.

[10:10:01]

We owe it to the officers who lost their lives. We owe it to the American people to figure out how the United States Capitol, the pre- eminent symbol of democracy around the world, could be overtaken by an angry, violent mob.

And we owe it to ourselves, colleagues, to believe enough in our democracy and in the U.S. Senate that despite our political differences, we will be constructive in this hearing today. Not just here to make political hay, but be constructive today to figure out what went wrong and what changes we can make ensure that the Capitol is safe for us and the public going forward.

Chairman Peters, Ranking Member Blunt, Ranking Member Portman and colleagues, for me, the bottom line is that we must get the answers and those answers are what will give us the solutions. Thank you very much.

PETERS: Thank you, Madam Chair.

It is been just over six weeks since our nation watched with horror as our Capitol building was breached by domestic terrorists who sought to use violence and intimidation to overturn the results of a free and fair election. This was a shocking assault on our democracy. And it marked one of our nation's darkest days.

The United States has stood as a beacon for the world, showing how democracy can thrive. On January 6th, we saw just how fragile many of our most valued democratic principles, including the peaceful transfer of power is.

It is hard to express how deeply grateful we are for the actions our Capitol police, our sergeant at arms and other law enforcement agencies do to keep us safe every single day, and especially on that day. Too many of our officers were gravely injured or tragically killed as they bravely fought back the attackers.

Chief Contee, we are also indebted to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for their valiant efforts to thwart the attack. D.C. Police often provides support to help secure the Capitol but the officers under your command did not hesitate to come to our aid. We are thankful for the heroic actions of so many who ensured this direct attack on our democracy failed.

But there is no question that there were colossal breakdowns in the intelligence gathering and security preparations leading up to the events of January 6, as well as during the coordination and response efforts once the attack got underway. Our goal today is to begin to understand where those breakdowns and failures occurred and to determine if there are policy and structural changes Congress must make to prevent a future attack of this nature.

In my role, on the Homeland Security Committee, I've worked to draw attention to the rising threat domestic terrorism, including the rise of insidious ideologies of white supremacy, anti-government militias and now QAnon conspiracies.

These ideologies are intertwined in numerous ways. And on January 6th, we saw just how quickly they can shift from online communities to committing organized, violent attacks in the real world.

But the warning signs were there. Just a few months earlier in my home state of Michigan, law enforcements successfully stopped a plot by anti-government militias to kidnap our state's governor. We've seen an increase in violent crimes over the last decade that are driven by hateful ideologies. And we saw the deadly and tragic consequences on January 6 when the domestic terrorist threat was not taken as seriously as it should have been.

This is a systemic and leadership failure on the part of the security officials, from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to the security leadership on the ground in Capitol and it must be addressed. Domestic terrorism is not a new threat but it is an urgent threat. It will require serious focus to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to protect the safety and security of all Americans. And I'd like to take a moment to remind my colleagues that every senator here today took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

As the committees charged with oversight, strengthening homeland security and maintaining Capitol operations, we have a solemn duty to thoroughly examine the security breakdowns and make needed reforms. And I'm hopeful we'll be able to work together and carry out this responsibility in a serious and a non-partisan way.

[10:15:01]

And, finally, while today's hearing is our first on January 6th attack, it will be not be our last. We will continue to seek testimony and information from a range of agencies and officials who were involved in preparing for and responding to the events of the day for the U.S. Capitol and for the entire region.

The attack on January 6 was an extraordinary event that requires exhaustive consideration. The American people deserve answers on why their Capitol was breached. And I look forward to having a productive discussion with our witnesses to provide the American people with those answers.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

KLOBUCHAR: Senator Blunt.

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): Thank you, Chairwoman Klobuchar. It is great to work with you and Chairman Peters and Senator Portman as we move forward on this hearing on what happened on January the 6th. And I think that will obviously also require discussion of what happened in the days immediately leading up to January the 6th.

This hearing as Senator Peters knew have both said, really, the beginning of a series of efforts that hopefully we can approach in a bipartisan way that looks for solutions and ensures that the deadly, outrageous, destructive attack that marked such a sad day in our history never happens again.

Certainly, the officers who defended the Capitol deserve to be recognized and praised for their valiant efforts and their willingness every day to stand ready to do what needs to be done to defend the Capitol and those who work there.

I'm certainly grateful to them. I'm particularly grateful in this instance to the Metropolitan Police Department and their really admirable response to be here quickly, to be here with significant numbers of people in the very short-term and within an hour to have an incredible impact on what was going on here at the Capitol and in a positive way.

The failures of the day, unfortunately, were of the most serious kind. Senator Klobuchar has already mentioned the three officers whose lives were lost and other officers who have really had to deal with this in a significant way.

Also, you have to remember that this was an event where the families of our officers were watching in real-time on television in an attack where they're seeing people that mean the entire world to them in this fight for their lives and fight for our lives and the Capitol.

Three of today's witnesses, former House Sergeant at Arms Irving, former Senate Sergeant at Arms Stenger and former Chief of the United States Capitol Police Sund were all charged with protection of the Capitol on January 6th. We need to hear from them. Where there was a failure of imagination of what could go wrong, a failure of intelligence gathering and dissemination, a failure of preparation which ultimately led to this problem, or maybe a structural failure that is just not designed in a way that it allows us to respond to an immediate crisis and obviously we need to get that done.

I want to hear from Chief Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department to learn about the department's role and, frankly, to learn how their decision-making process appeared to be so much quicker than the decision-making process we could go through here.

I believe it is important for everyone to note that the attacks on January the 6th did not prevent Congress from fulfilling its responsibilities. Both chambers reconvened that evening and finished the certification of the results of the Electoral College. I think Senator Klobuchar and the vice president and I left the building at about 4:00 A.M. on Friday morning, but we did get our work done where the American people and people all over the world would have expected it to get done.

And then on the 20th, we held an inauguration on the same platform that had been stormed three weeks earlier. And the -- two weeks earlier, and carried out one of our most important aspects of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power. I want to thank my colleagues from both the Homeland Security and Rules Committee for today's hearing as and staff work that has gone into getting ready for today.

PETERS: Thank you. Member Portman?

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): Thank you, Chairman Peters, Chairman Klobuchar and Ranking Member Blunt, for the constructive comment this morning. In this business, you often finish like you start, and I appreciate the fact that we're starting this review by taking the politics out of it so we could get to the bottom of what happened.

[10:20:07]

I want to start by expressing my gratitude to the men and women of law enforcement, U.S. Capitol Police, Secret Service, National Guard and Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI and all the law enforcement agencies who put their safety on the line to safeguard democracy on January 6th. As I said in the Senate floor that night, it was thanks to them that Vice President Pence, members of Congress, staff and the Capitol complex workforce were protected and we were able to complete our constitutional duty of certifying the election.

It was important, in my view, that we sent a clear message that night to our constituents and to the world that we would not be intimidated, that the mob would not rule here, that that message could not have been delivered without law enforcement securing us and our respective chambers.

Seven individuals lost their lives as a result of the Capitol attack, including two Capitol Police officers and a D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer who will never forget the service and sacrifice of Officers Brian Sicknick, Jeffrey Smith, Howard Liebengood.

I knew Officer Liebengood. I saw Howie most days who just post at the Russell Office Building. His colleagues will tell you no officer was more dedicated to the mission of the Capitol Hill Police Department, the mission and duty to serve and protect, and I'm proud to have called him a friend.

We will never forget Officer Eugene Goodman and the hundreds of other officers who were heroes on the frontlines that afternoon, that evening, many of whom sustained injuries.

To honor that kind of sacrifice and avoid future attacks, we have got to take a really hard look at what happened on January 6th. The decision-making that led up to that day and the decision-making that allowed the Capitol to be breached and overrun.

As a bipartisan media advisory, announcing this joint hearing stated the purpose today is to examine the security failures that lead to a breach on January 6, specifically the preparation and response efforts.

There are key questions that have to be answered. First, some witnesses have suggested there was an intelligence failure. We need to know. Was there credible intelligence about potential violence, when was it known and who knew it?

Second, witnesses have different accounts about request for National Guard assistance. We need to know did the U.S. Capitol Police request approval to seek National Guard assistance prior to January 6 and, if so, why was that request denied. We need to know was the request for National Guard assistance on January 6th delayed and why, if that is true. And we need to know why it took so long for the National Guard to arrive after their support was requested.

Third, the Capitol was overtaken in a matter of hours. We need to know whether Capitol Police officers were properly trained and equipped to respond to an attack on the Capitol and, if not, why not. And we need to know why the Capitol complex itself was so vulnerable and insecure that it could be so easily overrun.

My hope is that today we get clear answers to these questions from our witnesses. We need to know what happened and how to ensure this never happens again. It is that simple.

I'll be listening to carefully, I know my colleagues will, to the testimony of the witnesses before us. These events on January 6 showed that while our democracy is resilient, our democracy at times will be challenged. We've got to be up to that challenge. That certainly includes securing this Capitol, the citadel of democracy. That is something that we can all agree on.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

KLOBUCHAR: Thank you, Senator Portman.

Before I introduce the panel, it is important that we hear from someone we all believed it was important that we hear from someone who was on the frontlines that day. And I'd like to recognize Captain Carneysha Mendoza of the U.S. Capitol Police.

Captain Mendoza has been a member of the Capitol Police for almost 19 years with 13 years of leadership experience. She currently serves as a field commander in the special operations division where her duties include acting as a field commander for significant security incidents. She has served in various divisions within the department, including the command center House division and Senate division.

Before she joined the Capitol Police, she served as an active duty soldier in the United States Army and she has received various awards for her work, including her work on recovery efforts during the Pentagon attack on 9/11.

Born and raised in Missouri, Senator Blunt, Captain Mendoza graduated from Park University with a bachelor of science in criminal justice administration. She has two children.

On January 6th she rushed to the Capitol when she heard that her fellow officers needed immediate help and assumed command in the rotunda as she and her colleagues fought to push back the rioters and ultimately drive them out of the building.

[10:25:07]

Captain, thank you for sharing your story today.

CAPT. CARNEYSHA MENDOZA, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: Thank you, good morning.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak before the committee today and thank you all for your service to our country. My name is Captain Carneysha Mendoza and I've served with the United States Capitol Police for 19 years. I take a lot of pride in my job.

Prior to serving with the Capitol Police, I served as an active duty soldier with the United States Army. My last duty station was split between the Pentagon and the Washington Area Criminal Investigations Division. I received various awards from the Army and the Capitol Police, so including the award for recovery efforts during the Pentagon attack. Unfortunately, I didn't save any lives but there are certain lessons that always stuck with me after 9/11. One of those lessons is knowing the unthinkable is always possible so be ready, so I always take my job very seriously as 9/11 is always in the back of my mind.

With the Capitol Police, I have served in various operational administrative and collateral assignments. I'm currently serving as a captain in the special operations division, where I have various responsibilities to include serving as a field commander and a field force commander for the civil servants unit.

Throughout my career, I have responded to and managed various critical incidents and events from congressional and member security-related issues to shootings and armed carjackings. I have served as a CDU field force commander for multiple events, including the November 14th million MAGA march.

In my career, I've been activated to work demonstrations with controversial works and I have been called so many names so many times that I'm pretty numb to it now.

As an agency, we have trained for and handled numerous demonstrations. It is something we do on a regular basis and it's something I've always felt we have excelled at.

During the million MAGA march, multiple white supremacist groups, to include the Proud Boys and others, converged on the Supreme Court along with counter groups. The civil disturbance unit fought hard that day, physically breaking up fights and separating various groups. I literally woke up the next day unable to move due to the pain.

On January 6th, we anticipated an event similar to the million MAGA march that took place on November 14th where we would likely face groups fighting among one another. Additional civil disturbance units were activated that day. I was working the evening shift and had planned to report in at 3:00 P.M. I was prepared to work a 16-hour shift and assume field force commander should the event continue into the evening and overnight shifts.

It was approximately 1:30 in the afternoon, I was home eating with my ten-year-old, spending time with him before what I knew would be a long day when a fellow captain contacted me and told me things were bad and that I needed to respond in. I literally dropped everything to respond to work that day early.

I arrived within 15 minutes and I contacted dispatch to ask her what active scenes we had. I was advised things were pretty bad. I asked where assistance was needed and was advised of six active scenes. There was an explosive device at the Democratic National Committee building, a second explosive device at the Republican National Committee building, and large hostile groups at different locations outside of the Capitol building.

I advised the dispatchers I would respond to the DNC since that building was closest to where I was at the time. En route, I heard officers at the Capitol building calling for immediate assistance, so I proceeded past the DNC to the Capitol.

As arrived to the east front plaza of the Capitol, I heard an officer sound there was a breach at the rotunda door and heard various officers calling for assistance at multiple locations throughout the building. Many of the doors to the building were not accessible due to the size of the crowd. I was able to enter a lower level door with the assistance of a Capitol division officer.

Once inside the memorial door, I immediately noticed a large crowd of possibly 200 rioters yelling in front of me. Since I was alone, I turned to go back so I could enter another door but within the few seconds it took me to walk back to the door I entered, there were already countless rioters outside of the building banging on the door. I had no choice but to proceed through the violent crowd in the building.

I made my way through the crowd by yelling and pushing people out of my way until I saw Capitol Police civil disturbance units in riot gear in the hallway. They were holding the hallway to keep rioters from penetrating deeper into the building. I immediately jumped in line with them to assist with holding the crowd of rioters.

[10:30:00]

At some point, my right arm got wedged between rioters and the railing along the wall. A CDU sergeant pulled my right arm free, and had he not.