DISORGANIZED

Pence Begged Military to ‘Clear the Capitol’ During Jan. 6 Riot, New Docs Show

Pence finally made a call to the acting defense secretary at 4 p.m. on Jan. 6, after Trump had done nothing, according to new documents obtained by the AP.

A new document obtained by the Associated Press reveals more details about the timeline of law enforcement responses to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. The document, which does not appear to have been provided to congressional investigators for their public hearings in February, highlights how President Donald Trump took no steps to contain the chaos. It says Vice President Mike Pence made a phone call around 4 p.m. to the acting defense secretary, saying that the Capitol was not protected and asking that the military “clear the Capitol.” By this point, however, it had been two hours since rioters breached the building, injuring scores of police officers. And it would be another hour before defense officials approved a National Guard deployment.

Additionally, days before Jan. 6, government officials met to discuss the use of the National Guard, but said they’d only be called if the crowd exceeded 20,000. There was an hours-long delay in deploying the military on Jan. 6, leaving lawmakers, congressional staff and outnumbered police to largely fend for themselves.