William Walker, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, will testify Wednesday that it took three hours and 19 minutes for Pentagon leadership to approve a request for National Guard assistance at the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to his prepared remarks.
Why it matters: The timeline over when National Guard requests were made and granted has been a key point of contention in congressional hearings examining the security failures the Capitol riots.
- At House hearings last week, the former and current Capitol Police chiefs testified that the House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving took an hour to approve a request for National Guard backup. Irving denies the delay.
Another discrepancy appears to be surfacing ahead of Wednesday's hearing before the Senates Rules and Homeland Security committees.
- Walker will testify that he received a "frantic call" from Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund asking for National Guard assistance at 1:49 p.m., and that he immediately relayed the request to Army leadership. The approval came from acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and was relayed to Walker via "Army Senior Leaders" at 5:08 p.m., according to the testimony.
- But in a separate prepared statement, acting Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security Robert Salesses will testify that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy received Miller's approval at 4:32 p.m., and ordered National Guard to head to the Capitol.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
