Aftermath - The Hearings Begin

Untangling the events of January 6th isn't going to be simple. And it's clear that a) this is an emotional subject and b) anger about white supremacy groups is a potent, and difficult aspect of all of this.

Still, it will be important to separate out one problem from another. Failures to fully understand, or appreciate, or to prepare for the threat posed is one issue. The incitement created by Trump is another. But the failures of police and security efforts on January 6th is its own unique, additional problem. And trying to sort out that piece, as yesterdays hearing showed is both essential and complicated.

The Senate hearing with the former Sergeant at Arms of both the House and Senate as well as the head of DC's police force and the former head of Capitol Police was fascinating, revealing... and surprisingly (to me, anyway) full of details that suggested a wealth of systemic issues. If nothing else, the hearing underscored why 3 of the 4 men testifying were "Former" officials within days of the riot. Systemic failures in an organization you run that lead to disaster aren't generally events one just survives.

So what kinds of systemic issues showed up?

• Training - under questioning, Sund admitted that Capitol Police appeared woefully under trained for handling riots and mobs. While he indicated that there had been some "trial scenarios" - mostly conducted as part of events like Inauguration - other preparedness training had never been considered, never mind instituted. That failure stood in obvious contrast to DC Metro, which had all officers trained in riot emergency prep.
• Equipment - Never mind that the Capitol Police didn't have enough Tactical Units; it became clear under questioning that Sund had only recently started ordering the kind of protective equipment (such as riot protection helmets) needed in recent months (the first shipment showed up the day before the riots), delayed by the Pandemic. Further, an incredulous Senate made the point several times: no one ever cut the Capitol Police funding request, and they would have given him whatever he asked for. 
• Oversight - Sund made crystal clear that failures to call the National Guard and other resources were decisions that could not unilaterally be made by the Capitol Police, but had to go to his supervising committee, and the Sergeants both came off as decidedly weak on their defense that the reason the call went out late is because no one asked. Though conspiracists' will focus on the Army slow walking the Guard request, plenty of other, obvious bureaucratic hurdles were identifiable and preventable.
• Mission - Lurking between the lines of Sund's testimony was an obvious point: the building and personnel security functions of the Capitol Police don't square with a tactical force equipped to fight an insurrectionist mob. Are they Museum Guards? Or are they fast moving SWAT? This is not a small question, and much like the choices that led to merging Homeland Security (although as 1/6 demonstrates, not well) after 9/11, there's a question of why Federal security is a diffuse, and often unfocused effort.
• Intelligence - Whatever "you should have known" elements exist, the lack of good information was a clear issue that needs systemic solutions. Partly communication was clearly an issue (and a reminder that, for instance, the NYPD simply now operates its own unit because federal resources don't share, even with each other). But as well, the nature of our intelligence efforts - where enormous resources are (still) aimed internationally and outward while fewer resources work internally and domestically - is a problem. And it's not simple (what nation successfully spies on itself?), but the testimony definitely pointed to additional steps that must be taken.

Much of the focus on wild conspiracies may make for sexy reporting, but it would be a mistake to let the systemic issues get lost in a fog of "what about Ron Johnson" (and, just to make a point - the testimony Johnson read into the record was largely confirmation of the role of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, were anyone paying close attention to his words). Yes, there's a misinformation problem, and yes, there's a "co-conspirator" issue with some GOP Senators. But Josh Hawley continues to be a cartoon version of any kind of a threat, and Ted Cruz continues to be an expert at aiming his guns right at his feet. The real question is, does Congress have the will and the stamina to see these complex challenges to their own security through to successful resolution? I'm not sure the hearing confidently showed that. Not yet, anyway.

More pointedly, the hearing's disputes and multiple revelations underscored that Nancy Pelosi is right to want to stand up, and soon, an independent commission to take this in all the directions it needs to go. Piecemeal hearings and soundbite sum ups will not get at all the issues, all the complexities, and the serious work that needs to happen on multiple fronts. Bravo to Gary Peters reiterating, several times, that pressing the FBI on its White Supremacy investigation is ongoing and overdue. And kudos to Amy Klobuchar for calmly and effectively keeping her eye on Capitol Security. But this problem is enormous. What happened on January 6th isn't just a "can't happen again" - it's more than that. Fundamentals of our Republic type stuff. Yesterday was a start. The work remains.