Jan. 6 panel to recommend new intelligence-gathering legislation, chairman says

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Sunday said the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will recommend new intelligence-gathering legislation following its investigation into the deadly rioting.

Pressed by host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” about what recommendations the panel will make at the conclusion of its probe to stop such an attack from happening in the future, Thompson cited legislation that addresses intelligence gathering.

“Our intelligence-gathering components. As you know, it was clear that we were not apprised that something would happen. But, for the most part, it was the worst kept secret in America that people were coming to Washington, and the potential for coordination and what we saw was there,” Thompson, the chair of the panel, said.

“So, we want to make sure that never happens again. In addition to that, we want to make sure that the line of communication between the Capitol Police and the structure of how we make decisions is clear. Right now, it’s kind of a hybrid authority. And that authority clearly broke down, the training components for our Capitol Police, a lot of things that we don’t have right now,” he added.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chair of House Jan. 6 committee, says the panel will recommend new legislation to boost intelligence gathering to prevent future attacks on U.S. Capitol.

“It was clear that we were not apprised that something would happen.” https://t.co/eAuVOrCAJr pic.twitter.com/pfLDPTNjiL

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 2, 2022

Thompson also said the committee will recommend legislation that addresses “the coordination of resources to protect the Capitol,” after identifying “significant inconsistencies in coordination” in relation to Jan. 6.

“The first legislation would be the coordination of resources to protect the Capitol. There were significant inconsistencies in coordination, that the National Guard from the District of Columbia was slow to respond, not on its own, but it had to go to the Department of Defense,” Thompson said.

“We have actually fixed that right now, where the mayor of the District of Columbia can access the Guard right now,” he added.

Senate investigators released a report in June that outlined intelligence and communications failures in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The report includes warnings of violence that were poorly spread and largely ignored by top officials in a number of agencies, circumstances that left the Capitol Police unprepared for confrontations with protesters.