Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund spoke out about bureaucratic failures leading up to the January 6 riot, arguing "optics" were favored over security.
Sund joined "Hannity" Tuesday to explain his belief that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi played a role in the delayed decision to call in the National Guard when rioters descended on the Capitol building.
Sund said he requested heightened security a number of times in the days before January 6. On Jan. 3, he was told by Pelosi appointee Paul Irving, who was serving as the Sergeant at Arms, that intelligence didn’t support the need for the National Guard, and he didn’t like the "optics."
"His concern for the optics, I believe, goes back to Pelosi's statement that she referred to the federal agents and National Guard on the streets of America as ‘stormtroopers,’" Sund explained. "And I think she just didn't want the look of stormtroopers up on the Hill."
But under federal law, Sund was not permitted to call in federal resources independently. Irving, the Sergeant at Arms, would have to provide approval.
Sund said he immediately called for assistance when rioters began "brutally beating" Capitol officers.
"It was Paul Irving who immediately said, ‘I'm going to run it up the chain.’ I'll never forget that: Running up the chain. His chain of command ends at Speaker Pelosi, and I had to wait 71 minutes to finally get an approval at 2:09 p.m. before I could finally reach out and start calling in federal assistance," Sund said.
"Those were critical, essential minutes that we were losing."
Sund touted his officers, saying they heroically defended the Capitol building from being penetrated by rioters.
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Sund went on to explain the final intelligence assessment he received Jan. 3 – which sparked his initial request for the National Guard – indicated that the threat level was far lower than it should have been.
"The FBI was tracking 18 domestic terrorist suspects that were coming to the Capitol. And my intelligence unit on the fourth, fifth and sixth put out intelligence that was saying low probability of civil disobedience," he said.
No one, he said, was raising concerns about security or intelligence even on Jan. 5 as law enforcement agencies and military leaders met to discuss the upcoming election certification.
"So my request for the National Guard was based on my law enforcement experience," he said, noting that the vice president and a joint session of Congress would be present at the Capitol.
"I’ve never seen intelligence handled this way before," Sund said.
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He said the public needs to understand the restrictions he had as chief of the Capitol Police unable to independently call in federal assistance without running up the chain of command to Pelosi.
"Ask yourself why the January 6 committee never requested that I come and publicly testify. Think about that. I'm the chief of the Capitol Police," Sund said. "It would begin to show what went on the sixth, on the days leading up to the sixth, and what was the involvement of political leadership and their appointees."
Pelosi's office denied allegations after the riot that she had blocked National Guard troops from being deployed to the Capitol.
