According to publicly available transcripts of an interview conducted with Anthony Ornato, the former deputy chief of staff in the White House under President Donald Trump, the former leader moved to safeguard the nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, by dispatching 10,000 troops to Washington, DC.
Liz Cheney, a former representative and vice chair of the January 6 Select Committee, was present for the interview, but the J6 Select Committee and the evidence have never been made public.
Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), the chairman of the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, released the transcript of his interview with Ornato to the public following its publication by Mollie Hemmingway of The Federalist.
Hemmingway was informed by Loudermilk that “Mr. Ornato’s crucial witness testimony appears to have been withheld from the American people by the former J6 Select Committee because it went against their preconceived narrative.”
“Mr. Ornato’s evidence validates what Mr. Meadows has been saying for the entire time: President Trump did make an offer to send 10,000 National Guard men to guard the US Capitol, but it was rejected. This is only one instance of crucial material that the erstwhile Select Committee withheld from the public because it went against their desired narrative for the people of the United States. And for this precise reason—regardless of the result—my inquiry is dedicated to obtaining all the information, Loudermilk continued.
Ornato was interviewed for the probe by senior investigative counsel Soumya Dayananda, according to the transcript.
Dayananda questioned Ornato at one point, asking, “Do you recall any discussion prior to the 6th about whether and how many National Guard troops to deploy on January 6th?” in reference to the National Guard’s assertion about having 10,000 troops, or any other amount of troops.
The transcript states that Ornato acknowledged recalling a phone call with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, during which it was stated that Trump was keen to make sure and was “ready to request for 10,000” National Guard members.
Ornato went on to say that Bowser’s only “350 or so for intersection control” was not for “law enforcement capacity at the time,” but rather for intersection control.
Over 100 files were encrypted and erased from hard drives during the chamber’s transfer to GOP control in January 2023, according to the findings of the House Administration Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee, which was tasked with looking into both the 2021 Capitol riot and the previous Democrat-led investigation into the riot (The New York Post reported).
Four terabytes of archival data were slated to be sent to Republican Chairman Barry Loudermilk of Georgia by the select committee.
But according to the source, his group was only given two terabytes of data.
Stefanik attacked the committee, which included former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney (R) in an X post.