The former Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving told House Admin he had discussions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her office factored in to his “blender of decision making.” That is according to three sources with direct knowledge of Irving’s talk with House Admin who spoke with The Daily Caller.
Pelosi’s office insisted the National Guard remain off Capitol Grounds due to optics.
The three sources only spoke on condition of anonymity saying they feared it would put a chill on further witnesses on how the security situation unfolded.
Former Chief of Capitol Police Steven Sund and Paul Irving were forced to resign over security failures.
Pelosi’s Deputy Chief of Staff Drew Hammill did not deny the allegations in a statement to the Daily Caller.
“The Speaker’s Office has made it clear publicly and repeatedly that our office was not consulted or contacted concerning any request for the National Guard ahead of January 6th. That has been confirmed by former Sergeant at Arms Irving in sworn testimony before Senate committees. The Speaker expects security professionals to make security decisions and to briefed about those decisions,” Hammill said.
“It is our understanding that Committee on House Administration Ranking Republican Member Davis was briefed in advance of January 6th about security preparedness, but took no action to address any security concerns that he might have had,” he concluded.
The Sergeant at Arms (SAA) is selected by the Speaker of the House and takes its direction from the Speaker.
When Josh Hawley asked Irving if he had to run the request for National Guard when the call came in from the Capitol police, Irving said he did not.
He had to have gotten permission from Pelosi’s office beforehand.
In his sworn testimony, Irving said that he never had to run the request up the chain. “Why did the Speaker’s office confirm he did just that?” the source continued.
Another source familiar with conversations told the Caller, “Irving is covering for Pelosi. There’s no doubt.”
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