S4E12 DCNG Deployment Redux

Capitol Insurrection Report

"It was just a delay that somebody or somebodies were willfully, deliberately delaying making the decision." (Transcript of Major General William Walker before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, p 118) For three hours and 19 minutes, the NC National Guard waited in the DC Armory on January 6th, 2021, supposedly awaiting approval from Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy to deploy to the US Capitol. That order was never conveyed to Walker, although Secretary of Defense Chris Miller claims he authorized deployment at 3:04 pm, and Secretary McCarthy claims he called Walker to authorize deployment at 4:30 pm--a phone call Walker has consistently denied took place. Who were the "somebody or somebodies" who delayed deployment on January 6th, and what were their motivations? Given the conflicting accounts and the threadbare relationship between the official account of the DOD and what actually happened on January 6th, it seems unlikely we will ever see a definitive account of why the delay was felt to be necessary. Nonetheless, there is circumstantial evidence in the documentary record that shows that both the civilian and military leadership on duty on January 6th were uniform in their desire to keep both active-duty and National Guard servicemembers on the sidelines in the fight for the Capitol. The fact that this actually happened, and very much aligned with the preferences of top leadership is probably more than just a coincidence. If Trump had intended to misuse the military, why is there no record of his attempting to issue an illegal order on January 6th? Why did Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy believe it was necessary to personally develop a CONOP for January 6th, a circumstance that seems as unlikely as Jeff Bezos delivering your Amazon order? Why is it that neither General Walker or anyone else has seen the plan McCarthy supposedly developed in 20 minutes? Why was Ryan McCarthy so surprised to "I don't know what actually happened." (Miller, 115) "I -- I can't -- I don't know how to explain that." (McCarthy, 136) "You're coming up with a plan without me being involved in the plan?" (Walker, 108) Q: Was there any hesitation by DOD leadership to deploy the D.C. National Guard? A: None. No. (Milley, 258) "In fact, even in hindsight, I am really glad the cops showed up first. I'm glad that the FBI or the DEA or whoever it was, I'm glad they were the ones that showed up first and cleared the Capitol. Because they're the pros, they know how to do it. They're cops." (Milley, 275) https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report?path=/gpo/January%206th%20Committee%20Final%20Report%20and%20Supporting%20Materials%20Collection/Supporting%20Materials%20-%20Transcribed%20Interviews%20and%20Depositions/%7B%22pageSize%22%3A%2250%22%2C%22offset%22%3A%220%22%7D https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report?path=/gpo/January%206th%20Committee%20Final%20Report%20and%20Supporting%20Materials%20Collection/Supporting%20Materials%20-%20Transcribed%20Interviews%20and%20Depositions/%7B%22pageSize%22%3A%2250%22%2C%22offset%22%3A%220%22%7D https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2022/08/08/milley-almost-quit-over-trump-wrote-biting-resignation-letter-new-book-reveals/ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/chairman-joint-chiefs-says-no-role-military-presidential-election-n1238772 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMrvbCVNcwE&t=1s https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/09/mark-esper-fired-defence-pentagon-donald-trump https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/17/politics/chris-krebs-fired-by-trump/index.html DOD Statement on Personnel Changes at the Pentagon > U.S. Department of Defense > Release https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/d-c-mayor-muriel-bowser-press-conference-on-capitol-protests-transcript-january-6 https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IJ/IJ00/20211213/114313/HRPT-117-NA.pdf