Jan6: The American Gulag

[grarpamp]

Two-Dozen GOP Lawmakers May Force Capitol Police To Release Unseen J6 Footage

https://www.theepochtimes.com/exclusive-rep-gohmert-cites-us-code-that-may-force-capitol-police-to-release-remaining-jan-6-surveillance-footage_4640416.html

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22125824-letter-to-capitol-police-board
https://www.theepochtimes.com/jan-6-u-s-capitol-video-footage-can-and-should-be-released-judicial-watch-says-in-legal-filing_4262382.html
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title2-section1979&num=0&edition=prelim
https://www.theepochtimes.com/attorneys-claim-government-manufacturing-evidence-to-charge-incarcerate-jan-6-prisoners_4532154.html
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/aug/2/house-republicans-demand-capitol-police-turn-over-/
https://republicans-cha.house.gov/media/press-releases/davis-and-loudermilk-call-capitol-police-release-january-5th-tapes
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22126314-correspondence_from_rm_rodney_davis_to_uscp_board_re_demand_to_release_all_january_5th_capitol_security_tapes01


As the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the
United States Capitol continues its effort to prove allegations of
insurrection against former President Donald Trump and his supporters,
Capitol Police and House Democrats continue to block all efforts to
force the release of all surveillance video footage and emails, which
could possibly exonerate those being accused of wrongdoing. Now, Rep.
Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) is citing a United States Code that could
legally force the release of that evidence.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 25,
2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

In a July, 29, 2022 letter to Capitol Police Board Chair William J.
Walker, obtained by The Epoch Times, Gohmert—backed by the signatures
of 23 additional GOP lawmakers—demanded the release of footage
captured on Capitol Hill security cameras on Jan. 6, 2021, currently
being withheld under “sovereign immunity.”
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) questions Attorney General William Barr
who appears before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in
Washington on July 28, 2020. (Matt McClain-Pool/Getty Images)

“As you must be aware,” Gohmert wrote, “2 U.S.C. § 1979 states that
‘any Member … of either House of Congress’ can ‘obtain information
from the Capitol Police regarding the operations and activities of the
Capitol Police that affect the Senate and House of Representatives.’
Subsection (c) makes clear that nothing in that law may be construed
to prevent us, as Members of the House of Representatives from our
ability to obtain those videos.”

Gohmert concluded that “Releasing this information is absolutely
essential to proper governance and truth to protect and perpetuate
this self, governing nation.”
‘It’s About Revenge’

As The Epoch Times reported July 5, attorneys of Jan. 6 prisoners and
defendants have provided evidence in several cases that indicate the
government is manufacturing evidence to arrest and incarcerate people
who attended the protest at the Capitol. In the meantime, Gohmert
insists the government is also hiding evidence that could be used in
the defense of these people.

“That’s exactly what they’re doing,” Gohmert reiterated, noting how he
himself has been a victim of the Jan. 6 Committee’s “Soviet-style
propaganda.”

Reports disclose how Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to the
then-Whitehouse Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, told the Committee during
her June deposition that Gohmert asked then-President Donald Trump for
a pardon.

Gohmert demanded a release of the full, unedited video and transcript
of Hutchinson’s deposition, saying the way the video was presented
erased the fact that he was actually seeking pardons for “very
deserving military members, former military, and one civilian
servant.”

“I’ve been personally affected by the lies created by using tape,”
Gohmert told The Epoch Times. “They had Cassidy Hutchinson saying I
requested a pardon without getting the full context. I have never
asked for a pardon for myself. I’ve never done anything that needed a
pardon. But I was requesting pardons for a number of people that have
been screwed over by the justice system.”

While a spokesperson for the Capitol Police declined to comment on the
letter to The Washington Times, they did push back on allegations that
Jan. 6 prisoners and defendants were not provided full access to video
that has been provided to the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO).

“Every January 6th defendant has access to the same footage, which is
everything the USAO is releasing,” the spokesperson told The
Washington Times. “They do not just get what is relevant to them.”
The Road to 2 U.S.C. § 1979

In a May 19, 2022 letter (pdf) to Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.),
Select Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote that
the Board was seeking the Congressman’s “voluntary cooperation” in
advancing their investigation.

“Based on our review of evidence in the Select Committee’s
possession,” Thompson said, “we believe you have information regarding
a tour you led through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5,
2021.”

“The American people deserve a full and accurate accounting of what
happened on January 6th,” Thompson’s two-page letter concluded. “We
aim to make informed legislative recommendations taking account of all
relevant facts. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this
request.”

The letter was also signed by the Committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) speaks during a hearing in Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., on May 6, 2019. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In an immediate same-day response, Committee on House Administration
Ranking Member Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Committee Member
Loudermilk issued a joint press release, calling out the Select
Committee for its false accusations.

“A constituent family with young children meeting with their Member of
Congress in the House Office Buildings is not a suspicious group or
‘reconnaissance tour,'” the letter states. “The family never entered
the Capitol building.”

“The 1/6 political circus released the letter to the press before even
notifying Mr. Loudermilk, who has still not received a copy,” the
letter accuses. “The Select Committee is once again pushing a
verifiably false narrative that Republicans conducted ‘reconnaissance
tours’ on January 5th. The facts speak for themselves; no place that
the family went on the 5th was breached on the 6th, the family did not
enter the Capitol grounds on the 6th, and no one in that family has
been investigated or charged in connection to January 6th.”

In a letter dated May 20, 2022, addressed to Capitol Police Board
Chair William Walker and members Karen Gibson and J. Brett Blanton,
Davis demanded the release of “all January 5th Capitol Tapes.”

“If the Board does not release the relevant footage in a timely
manner, I will have no choice but to exercise my authority under 2
U.S.C. § 1979 to release the footage myself.”
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Il.) speaks in Washington on Jan. 9, 2020. (Alex
Wong/Getty Images)

On June 15, 2022, Thompson sent another letter (pdf) to Loudermilk,
again accusing him of personally escorting individuals through the
Capitol Building for the purposes of conducting reconnaissance ahead
of the rallies on Jan. 6. Thompson also reminded Loudermilk that the
Committee had “invited” him to meet with them on May 19, 2022, about
the “evidence,” which consisted of surveillance footage of Loudermilk
leading a “tour of approximately ten individuals” through areas that
are “not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways,
staircases and security checkpoints.”

“Surveillance footage shows a tour of approximately ten individuals
led by you to areas in the Rayburn, Longworth, and Cannon House Office
Buildings, as well as the entrances to tunnels leading to the U.S.
Capitol,” Thompson said in his letter. “The below image shows you
leading individuals on the tour:”
Screenshot of image from a June 15, 2022 letter written by Select
Committee Chairman Bernie G. Thompson to United States Rep. Barry
Loudermilk (R-Ga.), accusing him of personally escorting individuals
through the Capitol Building for the purposes of conducting
reconnaissance ahead of the rallies on Jan. 6. (Letter from the Select
Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States
Capitol)

Two additional images in the letter show “an individual appearing to
photograph a staircase in the basement of the Longworth House Office
Building” while Loudermilk speaks “with others nearby,” and of people
from Loudermilk’s tour “taking photographs of the tunnel leading from
the Rayburn House Office Building to the Capitol.”
Images from a June 15, 2022 letter sent by Select Committee Chairman
Bernie G. Thompson to United States Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.),
showing members of the Congressman’s tour taking photos. (Letter from
the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the
United States Capitol)

Loudermilk did not comply with the interview request.

On June 16, 2022, the Committee released surveillance footage of
Loudermilk’s “tour,” overlayed with graphics and preceded by selected
footage from other videos that add to their narrative of Loudermilk’s
supposed guilt.
The Problems with Pick-and-Choose

For Mike Howell, senior advisor for Government Relations at The
Heritage Foundation, the threat by Davis to release the Jan. 5 footage
of Loudermilk, if the Capitol Police do not, raises a serious
question.

Howell noted how Davis only threatened to release video footage that
pertained to the Loudermilk incident and insisted he had the authority
to do so.

“The question that’s been percolating is, ‘If you have the authority
to release the tape from January fifth, why are you not releasing all
of the tapes?’ That would be of major importance because there are a
lot of major criminal cases coming down and defense attorneys have had
problems trying to get access to these tapes themselves,” he told The
Epoch Times.

Gohmert agreed the Committee should not be allowed “to just
pick-and-choose which sections they show.”

“Yes, they should be able to show the defense what they’re going to
use in prosecution. But they are also required to show the things that
were more exonerating and exculpatory and that does not appear to have
happened at all,” he said.

Howell sees at least two problems with this game of pick-and-choose.

First, the request by Davis only to release a segment of video he
believes will prove his point is no different than the Jan. 6
Committee “selectively releasing portions they think show the best
side of their version of events.”

Second: “If the authority exists, and Davis has the power through this
statute to release the footage from Jan. 5,” Howell surmised, “why
haven’t the tapes already been released in full?”

While Howell did remark that some will cite security issues as the
reason for withholding most of the footage captured by cameras at the
Capitol, he said he’s “got news for them.”

“There are cameras all over the Capitol,” Howell countered. “So it’s
not a matter of special camera angles. I think the real reason why
they’re not being released is because it can potentially show
information and video footage that could be helpful to people being
charged by the Department of Justice as well as damaging to the
narrative that the January 6 Committee is trying to establish.”

According to a sworn affidavit from Capitol Police General Counsel
Thomas DiBiase, surveillance camera footage from the U.S. Capitol
Police’s extensive system of cameras on U.S. Capitol grounds states
“disclosure of any footage from these cameras is strictly limited and
subject to a policy that regulates the release of footage.”

“Per Department 1000.002, Retrieval of Archived Video (see attachment
1), the release of any footage from the Department’s CCV system must
be approved by the Assistant Chief of Police for Operations.”

Howell said the tapes need to be released to give people a “full
accounting” of what happened on Jan. 2, 2021 and allow attorneys to go
through the footage to find out if there is anything in there that may
be helpful to their clients.

“In the minds of many Americans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, this
event has been made out to be akin to 9/11.” Howell said. “So, the
question is, why can’t the American people see what actually happened
that day. I think there’s massive public interest in this, and that
outweighs any other concerns, so the tapes belong in the public.”

`Why Are You Only Threatening'

While Howell finds Davis's threat to release the Loudermilk video a bit
curious, he isn't surprised. At the time, when Davis made the threat, he
was struggling through a primary challenge against fellow Republican and
Trump-endorsed candidate Mary Miller after redistricting pitted the two
incumbent Republicans against each other.

"So he, in an effort to shore up some bona fides on the right, basically
threatened to release these tapes," Howell surmised. "Now he's lost his
primary and nothing has happened. He hasn't released the tapes and he
hasn't said anything else since."

Still, Howell believes the House Administration Committee—to which the
Capitol Police reports and of which Davis still serves as ranking
member—does have the power and authority to demand the release of the
surveillance footage.

"They aren't an independent police agency," Howell noted of the Capitol
Police. "They report to Congress. So Congress can tell Capitol Police what
to do. I'm surprised more people haven't picked up on it. You have the
tapes and you can release them? Why are you only threatening to release
them?"

Gohmert said "these tactics are things that were supposed to be left
behind 70 or more years ago. We had evolved to a justice system that was
the fairest in the history of the world. Now, this Justice Department and
the majority in the House are taking us back six or seven decades and
they've gone beyond how bad it used to be and they're approaching a
Soviet-style justice system. Stalin would be proud of what they're doing.
It's grossly unfair, grossly unjust. It doesn't resemble the justice
system at all."

Like Howell, Gohmert also wants to know why Davis only demanded the
release of surveillance footage that might prove the innocence of his
colleague, just as the members of the Select Committee are selecting bits
and pieces they think will prove the guilt of their political enemies.

The Next Step

Asked for the next step, Gohmert said he is going to give the Capitol
Police a chance to respond to his letter.

"It they don't respond quickly, I think we do need to take legal action,"
he said. "If they respond and say, `you're not entitled to it, we've
ignored lots of laws already and this is just one more law we'll ignore,'
then we have got to—for the sake of the country, for the sake of our
justice system and for the sake of truth—stand up and hold the Justice
Department accountable for their violations of the law."

Another thing bothering Gohmert is what he is learning through talking to
Jan. 6 prisoners "en mass at the D.C. Jail."

"I have been deeply concerned and a lot of us have been demanding that all
of the video be released for months," Gohmert explained. "The Supreme
Court made clear that the Department of Justice has to release any
potentially exonerating or exculpatory evidence to the defense. They put
so much pressure on defendants and kept many of them in jail so that they
just agree to plea guilty without ever seeing the exculpatory evidence,
which is absolutely outrageous because that lets the DOJ off the hook."

Gohmert said it was the moment he learned that 2 U.S.C. § 1979 isn't a
House rule, but that it's actually a law, that he knew he had to take a
stand, and while he knows that there are still some members of the Capitol
Police who "want to see right prevail and truth and justice prevail" he
said he "can only hope they will do the right thing" and release the
surveillance footage.

"If they're not willing to do it," Gohmert vowed, "we've got to go to
court as quickly as possible and require them to produce [the video]. This
is a law. This is not a suggestion. It is absolutely imperative that
Congress have access to all of that. So, that's why we made the request
and then sent the letter out so we could get it out as quickly as
possible."

"It will be interesting to know who's been holding up the video," Gohmert
speculated, "because some of the people who have refused to answer
questions" may soon "have to respond after their subpoenaed and drug into
court."