Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) is suggesting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) failed to prepare for the January 6 Capitol riot.
On Thursday, Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked Gingrich, “Wasn’t it Nancy Pelosi’s responsibility to oversee the protection and defense of the Capitol and if so why isn’t she facing more scrutiny?”
Gingrich explained, “Well, I think she is the person who is the most responsible for what happened. It was her job to ensure that there was adequate police, and if they didn’t have adequate police it was her job to ensure that the National Guard was there.”
He added, “So a lot of this, I think, is a dance by the Democrats, who don’t want us to look very closely at what actually happened.”
Gingrich suggested the House select committee investigating the riot is “only looking at political things.”
He continued, “They’re not looking at the various ringleaders who’ve not been arrested. They’re not looking at a lot of the details about whether or not the FBI was as involved as provocateurs.”
Watch his comments below:
The former speaker of the House told Ingraham he was “deeply offended that anybody would do what they did on the Capitol grounds,” adding, “I was also really offended that the current speaker, Pelosi, failed so totally in her job, which was to make sure this didn’t happen.”
According to a USA Today fact check, the Capitol police are overseen by several entities and individuals, not Pelosi. Capitol Police spokesperson John Stolnis previously told the outlet the Capitol Police is overseen by the Capitol Police Board.
Other congressional committees also oversee the agency.
The website of the Capitol Police states, “The Capitol Police Board consists of the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the U.S. Senate, and the Architect of the Capitol. The Chief of the United States Capitol Police serves in an ex-officio non-voting capacity. The Chairmanship alternates annually between the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms.”
As USA Today notes, Pelosi was not a chair or administrator for any of the committees overseeing the agency at the time of the riot.
