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A new Senate intelligence report released Tuesday looks into the deadly Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol reveals serious security breakdowns that day.
The intelligence probe is the most detailed account of the riot so far.
The report lists brain injuries, chemical burns, and broken bones among the injuries officers suffered on the frontlines during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The report blames the security breakdown on a lack of information sharing between government agencies who ignored clear warnings online where attackers spelled out plans to storm the Capitol and threatened violence.
It shows several government agencies, including the U.S. Capitol Police’s intelligence arm, failed to properly assess the threat, leaving police on the ground totally unprepared.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the bipartisan investigation proves Congress must now act to close glaring security gaps.
“(It) identifies a number of serious shortcomings in Capitol security,” McConnell said. He said the “latest findings should guide the institution’s ongoing security review.”
Sen. Gary Peters agrees.
“There were insufficient plans. Folks were screaming into their radios, wondering who has the plan,” Peters said. “That needs to change.”
But Peters and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the latest investigation only scratches the surface of the problem.
“The report did not investigate, report on, or hardly make any reference to the actual cause,” Schumer said. “With the exception of a brief reference to former President Trump’s remarks at the Ellipse, Senate Republicans insisted that the report exclude anything having to do with the cause of the insurrection.”
Schumer accuses Republicans of limiting the investigation’s scope to protect former President Donald Trump.
Democrats are calling for an independent commission to investigate the attack. Just weeks ago, Republicans blocked that effort, calling it political and unnecessary.
The fate of an independent commission is unclear.
On Tuesday, Sen. Roy Blunt said he and Sen. Amy Klobuchar would be introducing bipartisan legislation to address the dozens of security recommendations within Tuesday’s joint report.
