2 years ago
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CNN —
Never-before-seen footage, obtained exclusively by CNN, shows successful vivid caller item however legislature leaders fled the US Capitol connected January 6 and transformed a adjacent subject basal into a bid center, wherever they frantically coordinated with Vice President Mike Pence and Trump Cabinet members to quell the insurrection and decorativeness certifying the 2020 election.
The January 6 prime committee aired snippets of the footage at its nationalist proceeding on Thursday, but CNN has obtained astir an hr of further worldly that wasn’t presented by the panel.
Congressional leaders contemplated, acold much earnestly than antecedently known, whether to reconvene the Electoral College proceedings astatine Fort McNair, the footage obtained by CNN reveals. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke with Pence astir the “backup plan,” and officials tried to fig retired however they’d transport hundreds of lawmakers to the Army base.
The extended earthy footage shines a devastating airy connected then-President Donald Trump’s inaction during the riot. Lawmakers are seen moving astir Trump to unafraid immoderate assistance they could get – from the National Guard, national agencies and section constabulary departments – to decision the mob helium incited.
The footage was captured by Alexandra Pelosi, a documentary filmmaker and girl of the Democratic talker of the House. The filmmaker provided immoderate of her behind-the-scenes footage to the January 6 prime committee, which aired an edited compilation at Thursday’s hearing.
“Everyone progressive was moving actively to halt the violence, to get national instrumentality enforcement deployed to the country to enactment down the unit and unafraid the Capitol complex,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said astir the footage astatine the hearing. “All of them did what President Trump was not doing, what helium simply refused to do.”
It has been known since January 6, 2021, that congressional leaders from some parties were hastily evacuated to Fort McNair, which is astir 2 miles southbound of the Capitol. But anterior to Thursday, the nationalist has seen precise small footage from wrong the base, and the caller tapes amusement for the archetypal clip Pelosi’s rushed exit from the Capitol and into an SUV that took her to the base.
The caller clips amusement chaotic scenes of Democrats and Republicans moving the phones astatine Fort McNair, sometimes together, trying to fig retired what was going connected astatine the overrun Capitol, and begging for help.
In 1 melodramatic scene, then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer shouted astatine the Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, aft proceeding a rumor that Trump blocked the DC National Guard from rushing to the Capitol.
“I’d similar to cognize a bully God damn crushed wherefore it’s been denied,” Schumer said. “Please – the full Capitol is rampaged. There is simply a representation of idiosyncratic sitting successful the seat of the Senate. We’ve each been evacuated. There person been shots fired. We request a afloat National Guard component, now.”
McCarthy past assures Schumer that determination was nary stand-down bid for the National Guard.
And successful different shocking moment, Schumer and Pelosi are seen chewing retired the acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. In a heated telephone call, Schumer told Rosen that national authorities should “make arrests, starting now,” but Rosen lone offered a halting, non-committal response.
“Um, I person to defer to instrumentality enforcement connected that,” Rosen replied.
Most of the earthy footage shows Pelosi’s movements connected January 6, and Alexandra Pelosi’s documentary unit provided CNN with timestamps for the videos. Perhaps the astir consequential revelations are the telephone calls betwixt Pence and Pelosi, who were archetypal and 2nd successful the enactment of succession.
Their archetypal telephone successful the footage happened astir 4:20 p.m. ET. Pelosi asks Pence astir his well-being and his carnal safety, earlier discussing the anticipation of resuming the associated league of Congress astatine Fort McNair, truthful lawmakers could implicit the ceremonial process of finalizing Biden’s victory.
“We’re astatine Fort McNair, which has facilities for the House and the Senate to meet, arsenic a backup program … should thing hap that would warrant that,” Pelosi says. “We’d alternatively spell to the Capitol and bash it there, but it doesn’t look to beryllium safe.”
Pelosi went connected to archer Pence that she had been told it would instrumentality “days” for the Capitol to beryllium secured, and thus, “we logistically privation to bring each the members here, House and Senate.” But that ne'er materialized: rank-and-file lawmakers and legislature staffers stayed wrong the Capitol passim the siege, with galore barricading themselves successful their offices.
“I interest astir you being successful that Capitol room,” Pelosi tells Pence, who was holed up successful a loading dock underneath the Capitol with his information detail. “Don’t fto anybody cognize wherever you are.”
Pelosi tells the vice president that she heard reports of “defecation” connected the House floor.
The House talker says she consulted with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell astir trying to “expedite” the GOP objections to President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral votes, truthful they could rise 1 objection and past “move forward” with the predetermination certification. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, opposed the objections but respective Trump-aligned GOP senators were still trying to nullify Biden’s victories successful respective cardinal states.
During the call, Pelosi unwraps a beef jerky instrumentality and eats it, portion holding the telephone with her different hand.
Earlier successful the antecedently unseen footage, connected the greeting of January 6, Pelosi participates successful a video telephone with the House Democratic caucus to program retired the day’s proceedings. A devout Catholic, Pelosi invokes the Feast of the Epiphany, which is connected January 6, and says she hoped that Republicans “would person their ain epiphany” that day.
The telephone took spot successful Pelosi’s aforesaid conference country that was ransacked conscionable a fewer hours aboriginal by riotous Trump supporters, immoderate of whom specifically said they wanted to hunt her down.
Pelosi is aboriginal seen reacting to Trump’s code astatine the Ellipse, wherever helium told his supporters to march to the Capitol, and said he’d beryllium determination with them to protestation the predetermination certification.
“Tell him, if helium comes here, we’re going to the White House,” Pelosi quips, with a laugh.
Then, Pelosi’s main of unit notifies her that the Secret Service “dissuaded (Trump) from coming to Capitol Hill.” It’s unclear however the adjutant learned this. But the footage backs up the grounds of Trump White House authoritative Cassidy Hutchinson, who told the January 6 committee astir Trump’s attempts to unit his information item to instrumentality him to the Capitol, but they overruled him.
Pelosi responds to the quality with a consecutive face, telling adjacent aides: “If helium comes, I’m going to punch him out. I’ve been waiting for this. For trespassing connected the Capitol grounds, I’m going to punch him out. And I’m going to spell to jail, and I’m going to beryllium happy.”
As Pelosi exits her bureau and heads to the House chamber, the footage shows legislature aides carrying the all-important boxes containing the authoritative Electoral College certificates. The proceedings begin, with Pence presiding, and GOP lawmakers rapidly record their archetypal objection.
Throngs of Trump supporters soon started swarming the Capitol complex. The shaky video footage shows Pelosi and her entourage of unit and household members getting whisked distant from the building, escaping the fast-approaching rioters and descending down a constrictive staircase
“If they halt the proceedings, we volition person wholly failed,” Pelosi says, arsenic she evacuated the Capitol, adding later, “We have got to decorativeness the proceedings, oregon other they volition person a implicit victory.”
On her mode out, she asks aides if they were capable to scope McConnell, and whether helium was connected committee to jointly petition exigency assistance from the National Guard. (He was, they said.)
Resettled astatine Fort McNair, Pelosi learns that immoderate House members were trapped successful the enclosure and were instructed by information officials to enactment connected their government-issued state masks. Pelosi and her colleagues aboriginal ticker the riot unfolding connected CNN, the footage shows. They were visibly shaken by the TV coverage.
The extended footage obtained by CNN shows congressional leaders from some parties taking refuge astatine Fort McNair.
Democratic leaders Pelosi and Schumer, arsenic good arsenic top-ranking Reps. Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn, are seen passim the earthy footage. They were joined by apical Republicans, similar McConnell, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Sen John Thune of South Dakota and Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Minority Whip.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, is besides successful the footage, taking refuge astatine Fort McNair. His beingness is notable considering his trajectory aft the insurrection: McCarthy confronted Trump in a heated call during the attack, and directly blamed Trump in the contiguous aftermath, but days later re-embraced Trump and began downplaying the riot.
One country from the footage, astir 3:18 p.m. ET, shows immoderate of the elder Democratic officials talking again with Ryan McCarthy, the Army secretary. Schumer was seemingly nether the content that the subject effect was impeded.
“I ne'er said no,” Ryan McCarthy says, astir activating the National Guard. “I conscionable had to get permission.” Without naming immoderate names, Ryan McCarthy past tells the lawmakers that helium “had to speech to my boss.” It’s not wide who the Army person was referring to, but acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller was technically his boss.
Miller did not talk with Trump connected January 6, according to the House prime committee investigating the attack. Miller did talk that time with Pence, who took connected an impromptu enactment relation that day, moving with congressional leaders and Capitol information officials, and the footage intelligibly shows Pence coordinating with Pelosi astir the efforts to unafraid the Capitol.
Roughly 30 minutes later, astir 10 lawmakers huddle astir a phone in a bipartisan scrum to talk with Miller, the acting Defense secretary. Schumer presses Miller connected the dilatory National Guard response, and informed Miller that immoderate senators were trapped successful their hideaway offices adjacent the breached Senate chamber.
McConnell tells Miller that troops request to beryllium “getting determination successful 1 hellhole of a hurry, you understand?”
“This is an emergency,” Schumer says, “where beingness and limb are astatine stake.”
The acting Pentagon main tells the lawmakers that helium got the connection “loud and clear,” the troops had already been activated, and that plans to retake the Capitol were being devised by subject leaders.
The clips amusement Pelosi speaking with then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, astir sending troops, due to the fact that helium could straight activate the Virginia National Guard without statesmanlike involvement. She additionally spoke with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, different Democrat, whose constabulary section was connected the frontlines that day.
There was besides the showdown with Rosen, the acting lawyer general. Schumer yells into his flip phone, castigating Rosen, and urges him to archer Trump to telephone disconnected the mob. Rosen had small to connection Schumer, but to accidental helium was mobilizing national agents nether his purview. Pelosi tells Rosen that the rioters were “breaking the law … at the instigation of the President of the United States.”
Rosen says his squad was “coordinating arsenic rapidly and as–” before getting chopped disconnected by Schumer, who forcefully asks Rosen again if helium volition intervene straight with Trump.
“No, no, nary – delight reply my question,” Schumer shouts. “Answer my question!”
At that time, Schumer apt didn’t cognize Rosen’s narration with Trump had deteriorated, and that Rosen was little of a Trump loyalist and much of an state supporting the transportation of power.
Days earlier, Trump had threatened to occurrence Rosen and regenerate him with Jeffrey Clark, a apical Justice Department authoritative who was consenting to bash what Rosen wouldn’t: Use the powers of national instrumentality enforcement to overturn the results of the 2020 predetermination to support Trump successful power.
“Mr. President, you’re close that I’m not going to let the Justice Department to bash thing to effort to overturn the election,” Rosen told Trump during that high-stakes Oval Office gathering connected January 3, 2021, according to his testimony to the January 6 committee.
As precocious arsenic 4:30 p.m. ET, top legislature leaders were talking with McCarthy, the Army secretary, astir completing the associated league of Congress astatine Fort McNair.
“We indispensable finish,” Schumer said, “but you person to assistance america marque that decision.”
Schumer and others aboriginal sermon the logistics of shuttling hundreds of lawmakers to Fort McNair. Pelosi wonders aloud if determination were microphones they could use. Officials tried to resoluteness the large questions: How would lawmakers get bussed from the Capitol to Fort McNair? Where would they spell aft certification is completed? How would they get location safely?
In what looked similar an impromptu briefing, a US Capitol Police serviceman provides immoderate logistical answers to the elder lawmakers, for however they could “continue ideology present connected base.”
But the legislature leaders were besides wary, and Schumer said the Fort McNair backup program would look similar “we’re abandoning the Capitol to insurrectionists.”
By the evening, constabulary had expelled astir of the rioters and started establishing a unafraid perimeter astir the Capitol. Pelosi gets connected the telephone again with Pence astir 6 p.m. ET, and the vice president had immoderate bully quality for the congressional leaders, who were hoping to get backmost into the Capitol.
“I americium virtually lasting with the main of the US Capitol Police,” Pence said connected speakerphone, arsenic Pelosi, Schumer and Grassley listened. “And helium conscionable informed me, that their champion accusation is that they judge that the House and the Senate volition beryllium capable to reconvene successful astir an hour.”
With that, the Fort McNair “backup plan” was called off.
Soon after, Pelosi speaks with then-House sergeant-at-arms Paul Irving. In the antecedently undisclosed conversation, Irving confirms that lawmakers tin soon return, but immoderate areas volition beryllium off-limits, due to the fact that they are a “crime scene.”
“There is humor extracurricular the Speaker’s Lobby,” Irving says, referring to the country instantly disconnected the House level wherever Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by a constabulary officer.
The footage shows Pelosi leaving Fort McNair and driving done the acheronian streets of DC toward the Capitol. The Senate reconvened astir 8 p.m. ET and the House reconvened astir 9 p.m. ET.
Despite the attack, Trump’s staunchest legislature allies pushed up with their challenges against Biden’s electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania. Their objections, based connected meritless claims of fraud, were defeated successful bipartisan votes. The 2020 predetermination formally came to a close.
The caller footage was captured by Alexandra Pelosi, who has released documentaries connected HBO for decades. CNN and HBO are some owned by the aforesaid genitor company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
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