Difference between revisions of "United States Capitol Police"

Revision as of 00:56, February 26, 2021

The United States Capitol Police (USCP) mission is to "Protect the Congress – its Members, employees, visitors, and facilities – so it can fulfill its constitutional and legislative responsibilities in a safe, secure and open environment.," according to its website.^[1]

Awan scandal

See also: Democrat IT scandal

From the moment the Capital Police found probable cause of lawbreaking, the Awan investigation presented many peculiar and difficult problems. The Capitol Police on their own are not equipped to conduct an international counter-intelligence investigation. And yet the case occurred at a time of serious misuse of the nation's foreign intelligence gathering capabilities by the Executive Branch and civil rights violations by the Obama administration, as well as primary vote rigging by the Democratic National Committee, collusion between the Clinton campaign, the FBI, and foreign actors to meddle in US elections democracy.^[2]

During several years of employment of the Awans, the wives have only been seen at work a few times, one drawing $1 million in pay in recent years. The wife of Imran Awan, herself a suspect in the investigation, reportedly has fled to Pakistan with her children permanently "where her family has significant assets and VIP-level protection.

Investigating authority

The lead agency conducting the Awan investigation is the United States Capitol Police, which is a law enforcement bureau within the Legislative Branch of the United States. It should not be confused with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the local District of Columbia Police. The Capitol Police is the lone law enforcement bureau directly under the control of the United States Congress. As such, information-sharing arrangements between the Capitol Police and the Intelligence Community of the Executive Branch are somewhat different.^[3]

Several congressional staffers have suggested their bosses are being blackmailed, hence Members' reluctance to talk about the breaches and the appearance of a cover-up.

Likewise, the District of Columbia is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress which created a single municipal government for the District and retains veto power over local law. The District of Columbia Police are indirectly under the Congress through the local municipal government.

At some point Executive Branch law enforcement agencies were called in, as evidenced by Imran Awan's arrest on money laundering charges by the FBI at Dulles Airport in June 2017. However, so far as is known, the Capitol Police remain the lead investigative agency.

2021 Capitol breach

See also: 2021 Capitol riot

In an interview with Washington D.C. police chief Steve Sund, Washington Post reported the chief “believes his efforts to secure the premises were undermined by a lack of concern from House and Senate security officials who answer directly to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate leader Mitch McConnell.” WaPo reported, “Two days before Congress was set to formalize President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund was growing increasingly worried about the size of the pro-Trump crowds expected to stream into Washington in protest. To be on the safe side, Sund asked House and Senate security officials for permission to request that the D.C. National Guard be placed on standby in case he needed quick backup. But, Sund said Sunday, they turned him down.” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's chief of staff admitted, “this guy is on the phone, I mean, crying out for help. It’s burned in my memories.”^[4]

According to Roll Call magazine, Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told House investigators that although a communication breakdown kept her and other department leaders in the dark about an FBI warning of “war” at the Capitol, they would not have changed the security posture leading up to the January 6, 2021 attack even if they had seen the message.

The intelligence from the FBI’s field office in Norfolk, Va., was emailed to a Capitol Police lieutenant in the department’s Protective and Intelligence Operations unit on January 5, 2021. “That information was not then forwarded any further up the chain,” Pittman testified.^[5] Pittman’s testimony differs from that of her predecessor, former Chief Steven Sund who was on the job during the riot, who testified before a joint Senate panel that the FBI report warned of Antifa violence.^[6]

See also

References