House Hearing With Capitol Architect Further Shows Intel Lapse Before Insurrection

February 24, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 08: U.S. Capitol Police salute after raising the American flag to half-staff at the U.S. Capitol on January 08, 2021 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the building's flags... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 08: U.S. Capitol Police salute after raising the American flag to half-staff at the U.S. Capitol on January 08, 2021 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the building's flags be flown at half-staff in honor of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, who died after being injured during clashes with a pro-Trump mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Sicknick, a military veteran, was a 12-year member of the force. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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February 24, 2021

Capitol Architect Brett Blanton testified to House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Legislative Branch that he was not informed of the FBI’s intel on Trump extremists’ plans to storm the Capitol on January 6, nor was he directed to beef up physical barriers on the campus ahead of the attack.

Blanton is a member of the Capitol Police board with the US Capitol police chief and the two Sergeant-at-arms of the House and Senate. As such, most of the subcommittee’s questions were directed at him and what he knew about the threat of the insurrection before it occurred.

Besides Blanton, the witnesses included House Curator Farar Elliott and and Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindo.

The testimonies also tamped down on certain concerns regarding the extent to which the insurrection was pre-planned: Blanton told lawmakers that he hasn’t seen “any indication” that the attackers had access to the Capitol floor plans, and Szpindo said that her cybersecurity office didn’t see an attempt to breach the Capitol’s online network that day or any other time that could be tied to the insurrection.

The hearing was aimed at examining the damage inflicted upon the Capitol building during the siege, along with the wellness of the Capitol employees who were there.

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Capitol Architect Brett Blanton testified to House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Legislative Branch that he was not informed of the FBI’s intel on Trump extremists’ plans to storm the Capitol on January 6, nor was he directed to beef up physical barriers on the campus ahead of the attack.

Blanton is a member of the Capitol Police board with the US Capitol police chief and the two Sergeant-at-arms of the House and Senate. As such, most of the subcommittee’s questions were directed at him and what he knew about the threat of the insurrection before it occurred.

Besides Blanton, the witnesses included House Curator Farar Elliott and and Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindo.

The testimonies also tamped down on certain concerns regarding the extent to which the insurrection was pre-planned: Blanton told lawmakers that he hasn’t seen “any indication” that the attackers had access to the Capitol floor plans, and Szpindo said that her cybersecurity office didn’t see an attempt to breach the Capitol’s online network that day or any other time that could be tied to the insurrection.

The hearing was aimed at examining the damage inflicted upon the Capitol building during the siege, along with the wellness of the Capitol employees who were there.

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