'Intelligence failure': US Capitol Police whistleblower alleges leadership debacle on Jan. 6

masking off. Yes. If you're comfortable with it, we're fine. You know, where do you see kind of the response generally to large scale events like this. And you compare that to what you would do kind of moving forward. We had looked at Everything that went wrong on the 6th and make sure that we would make any of the same mistakes or paid attention to all the things that we need to pay attention to For this valley on the 18th, if somebody wants to criticize me for over planning or over preparing, I'll take that criticism. But frankly, we just we're in a position where we could not allow Another January six. You know, moving forward. Uh, we're not gonna put the fence up every time we have a large demonstration, it's really going to depend on the intelligence we have beforehand and on the potential for violence, we've got the demonstration coming up next weekend, which will bring thousands and thousands of demonstrators up to the Supreme Court and uh, and around the capital were not planning to put the fence up because I think the potential for violence there is very low. So it's not just about the numbers, it's really about the intelligence that we have beforehand about what might come with the rally members of the you know, and how they january. I mean, you know, shields at the ready at the doors and windows, you know, office. So in the span of two years has gone from 800 over 9000. Clearly, our mission has to focus on those threats, investigating those threats and ensuring that we've got the proper protections in place for the members of Congress. This takes additional staff. It takes additional resources. It takes additional investigative capability that we didn't have five years ago. So you can never let your guard down as well protected as this facility is. This complex is as well protected as the members are. Again, it only takes one person, and so you've got to be on your guard at all times.

Video above: The AP sits down with the new chief of the Capitol PoliceA whistleblower identifying as a former high-ranking U.S. Capitol Police official excoriated the department's leadership before, during and after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection in a new letter to Congress.The 16-page letter, obtained by CNN and first reported by Politico, claims two Capitol Police officials — assistant chief Yogananda Pittman and acting assistant chief Sean Gallagher — did not share vital intelligence with other police leadership and did not act to help officers once the violence began on Jan. 6, but haven't seen any consequences in the months since. The letter, dated Sept. 28, addresses leaders of the U.S. House and Senate.The whistleblower said they are a former high-ranking officer with more than 30 years of service at the department who worked there at the time of the attack.Some of the allegations in the letter mirror criticism contained in reports from the Senate Judiciary Committee and the inspector general. But the letter takes particular aim at department leadership — and accuses some congressional leaders of having "purposefully failed" to tell the truth about the department's failures.The alleged failures of Pittman and Gallagher, the former department official wrote, have been "marginalized, negligibly investigated, categorically underreported and without accountability. In fact, as pointed out by many they have been restored to their exact same positions as if they were not responsible for the single greatest intelligence failure in the history of the U.S. Capitol Police is astounding."The former department official alleges that the pair didn't share intelligence information with the department that would have "changed the paradigm of that day" and that during the attack, "they did not try to help or assist as officers and officials were literally fighting for each other, their lives and the Congress.""What I observed was them mostly sitting there, blankly looking at the TV screens showing real-time footage of the officers and officials fighting for the Congress and their lives," the former department official, who said they were in the command center for part of the attack, wrote.A law enforcement source defended Pittman and Gallagher to CNN, saying they did not fail to act, but instead were focused on successfully ensuring the protection of lawmakers, who were all evacuated without harm.Still, the letter underscored the ways in which the Capitol Police department continues to grapple with the fallout of the Jan. 6 insurrection more than nine months after the attack. The mere shock of the event, and the criticism of the department that followed, has led the department to make some quick changes, like rank-and-file officers now getting daily intelligence alerts on their cell phones.The Capitol Police executive team, which includes Pittman and Gallagher, said in a statement to CNN that "a lot has changed since Jan. 6" and though "there is more work to do, many of the problems described in the letter have been addressed.""USCP leaders, under new Chief Tom Manger, are committed to learning from prior mistakes and protecting our brave officers, who fought valiantly on Jan. 6, so we can continue to carry out the Department's critical mission," the statement said."The men and women of this Department are committed to that critical mission. Our goal is to work as a team, to move forward, and advance the work that keeps the U.S. Capitol and the people who work here safe."Both Pittman and Gallagher were among the force's top leadership that received a vote of no confidence from members of the department one month after the attack.A vote of no confidence was among the most adversarial actions the union could take to express displeasure in leadership. The move signified USCP officers' deep frustrations with management and sent the loudest message officers can issue as a unified group.

Video above: The AP sits down with the new chief of the Capitol Police

A whistleblower identifying as a former high-ranking U.S. Capitol Police official excoriated the department's leadership before, during and after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection in a new letter to Congress.

The 16-page letter, obtained by CNN and , claims two Capitol Police officials — assistant chief Yogananda Pittman and acting assistant chief Sean Gallagher — did not share vital intelligence with other police leadership and did not act to help officers once the violence began on Jan. 6, but haven't seen any consequences in the months since. The letter, dated Sept. 28, addresses leaders of the U.S. House and Senate.

The whistleblower said they are a former high-ranking officer with more than 30 years of service at the department who worked there at the time of the attack.

Some of the allegations in the letter mirror criticism contained in reports from the Senate Judiciary Committee and the inspector general. But the letter takes particular aim at department leadership — and accuses some congressional leaders of having "purposefully failed" to tell the truth about the department's failures.

The alleged failures of Pittman and Gallagher, the former department official wrote, have been "marginalized, negligibly investigated, categorically underreported and without accountability. In fact, as pointed out by many they have been restored to their exact same positions as if they were not responsible for the single greatest intelligence failure in the history of the U.S. Capitol Police is astounding."

The former department official alleges that the pair didn't share intelligence information with the department that would have "changed the paradigm of that day" and that during the attack, "they did not try to help or assist as officers and officials were literally fighting for each other, their lives and the Congress."

"What I observed was them mostly sitting there, blankly looking at the TV screens showing real-time footage of the officers and officials fighting for the Congress and their lives," the former department official, who said they were in the command center for part of the attack, wrote.

A law enforcement source defended Pittman and Gallagher to CNN, saying they did not fail to act, but instead were focused on successfully ensuring the protection of lawmakers, who were all evacuated without harm.

Still, the letter underscored the ways in which the Capitol Police department continues to grapple with the fallout of the Jan. 6 insurrection more than nine months after the attack. The mere shock of the event, and the criticism of the department that followed, has led the department to make some quick changes, like rank-and-file officers now getting daily intelligence alerts on their cell phones.

The Capitol Police executive team, which includes Pittman and Gallagher, said in a statement to CNN that "a lot has changed since Jan. 6" and though "there is more work to do, many of the problems described in the letter have been addressed."

"USCP leaders, under new Chief Tom Manger, are committed to learning from prior mistakes and protecting our brave officers, who fought valiantly on Jan. 6, so we can continue to carry out the Department's critical mission," the statement said.

"The men and women of this Department are committed to that critical mission. Our goal is to work as a team, to move forward, and advance the work that keeps the U.S. Capitol and the people who work here safe."

Both Pittman and Gallagher were among the force's top leadership that received a vote of no confidence from members of the department one month after the attack.

A vote of no confidence was among the most adversarial actions the union could take to express displeasure in leadership. The move signified USCP officers' deep frustrations with management and sent the loudest message officers can issue as a unified group.

��vlog