January 6th Committee reveals it has at least one House Republican nailed for giving Capitol tours
Over the past several weeks it’s become more and more clear that the January 6th Committee has amassed a treasure trove of evidence that’ll blow the lid off the entire scandal, and that the committee is preparing to drop major bombshells during its upcoming televised public hearings. Now some of those bombshells are surfacing in advance.
Various House Democrats have long claimed they saw suspiciously large tours being given of the Capitol on January 5th, even though no such tours were allowed during that timeframe. House Republicans have unanimously insisted this was not true, and House Republican Barry Loudermilk even went so far as to file an ethics complaint against the House Democrats who claimed to have seen tours taking place.
Now, in a development that we should probably all have seen coming, the January 6th Committee says it’s found evidence that – you guessed it – House Republican Barry Loudermilk gave a Capitol tour on January 5th.
Politico says that the committee has not yet found any evidence that ties Loudermilk’s tour to the Capitol attack. That said, given that the House Republican caucus insisted Loudermilk’s tour never took place, and that Loudermilk himself filed a complaint against the Representatives who witnessed the tour, this has clearly gotten into coverup territory.
The question is what, precisely, House Republicans are trying to cover up here. If Loudermilk’s tour was merely an instance of him breaking the rules but it had nothing to do with the Capitol attack, then it was pretty stupid move for them to try to cover up this kind of comparatively harmless infraction. It raises logical questions about what if anything else is being covered up.
The committee is now seeking an interview with Loudermilk next week. It’s worth keeping in mind that there’s a good chance the committee already knows a lot more about this tour than it’s letting on. In such case it’ll be difficult for Loudermilk to try to figure out what position to take on this matter, given that another shoe could end up dropping once he does commit himself to a position.
