Congresswoman says Trump administration botched Capitol riot preparations

(Reuters) – A Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday plans to interrogate former security officials from Donald Trump’s administration on failures to avert the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying signs of looming danger had been in “plain sight.”

“The federal government was unprepared for this insurrection, even though it was planned in plain sight on social media for the world to see,” said Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, at the start of a hearing examining the security failures.

Maloney’s committee will hear testimony from two men in high-ranking positions during the closing weeks of the Trump administration, former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.

Maloney said she would demand answers from Miller on why National Guard troops did not arrive until hours after the building was overrun.

According to a copy of Miller’s prepared remarks seen by Reuters, he plans to say the military was deliberately restrained that day when Trump’s rally turned into an assault by hundreds of his followers that left five dead including a police officer.

“My concerns regarding the appropriate and limited use of the military in domestic matters were heightened by commentary in the media about the possibility of a military coup or that advisers to the president were advocating the declaration of martial law,” his prepared testimony for the House Oversight Committee states.

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