Top Jan. 6 investigator says FBI, other agencies could have done more to repel Capitol mob had they acted on intel

The Jan. 6 committee concluded the FBI and other agencies could have done more to repel the Capitol mob had they acted on intel, the lead investigator told NBC News.

The House Jan. 6 committee concluded that the FBI and other federal security agencies could have prevented a violent mob from overrunning the Capitol had they acted on the large volume of intelligence collected beforehand, the chief investigator told NBC News in an exclusive interview — a judgment the committee left out of its televised hearings and final report.

Former federal prosecutor Tim Heaphy, the committee’s chief investigative counsel, said that while he endorses the panel’s main finding that then-President Donald Trump sparked the riot by urging protesters to go to the Capitol, his probe documented how federal law enforcement failures contributed to the debacle.

Trump “was the proximate cause. But for his words, and deeds, it wouldn’t have happened,” said Heaphy, who led many of the key witness interviews conducted by the committee. “That said, what happened at the Capitol was also affected by law enforcement failures to operationalize the ample intelligence that was present before Jan. 6, about the threats of violence.”

He added, “Law enforcement had a very direct role in contributing to the security failures that led to the violence.”

For more on this story, tune in to NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT or check your local listings.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/fbi-stopped-jan-6-capitol-mob-acted-intelligence-rcna68155

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