A congressional hearing exploring the investigation into the two Jan. 6 pipe bombs left near the Republican and Democratic headquarters three years ago erupted into partisan rancor over the panel’s mission.
The House Administration Oversight Subcommittee held its first hearing of the Jan. 6 series of investigations, which focused on the unsolved case.
Chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, Georgia Republican, the subcommittee has been taking jabs at how the Jan. 6 Select Committee investigated the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump supporters breached the Capitol.
Mr. Loudermilk noted that the select committee barely probed the two bombs that were found near the RNC and DNC.
According to the Georgian, the 845-page final report referenced “pipe bomb” only five times.
“Additionally, the January 6 Select Committee, which was meant to dive into the failures and investigations of January 6, completely neglected to investigate the devices,” he said. “Despite former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats spending millions of dollars in their two years of the select committee, their investigation into the pipe bombs was nonexistent.”
The top Democrat on the subcommittee shot back that Mr. Loudermilk and other House Republicans were peddling “right-wing conspiracy theories” related to the Jan. 6 pipe bomb investigation and that conducting a public hearing about an ongoing investigation about the matter can damage the probe.
Rep. Norma Torres, California Democrat and ranking member of the subcommittee, said she worked many years as a 911 dispatcher and that it’s “premature to assess the law enforcement response to a criminal act while a federal investigation is still active and ongoing.”
She added, “I am sure that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know this, which leads me to wonder what exactly is it that we’re doing here this morning? Maybe it is to peddle crazy right-wing conspiracy theories about the January 6 pipe bombs spreading in the dark corners of the internet.”
Ms. Torres asked if the Republicans put the hearing together to “villainize law enforcement” and “undo the efforts of the bipartisan January 6 Select Committee.”
The testimonies delivered Tuesday are part of hearings launched through an investigation by House Republicans into the Capitol protest.
Law enforcement officials testified along with expert bomb detection experts. These were U.S. Capitol Police Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher, former Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Head K-9 Officer Michael Keim, former FBI Special Agent Barry Black and U.S. Bomb Technician Association CEO Sean Dennis.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, Virginia Republican, sparked a conversation with a Democratic witness, Mr. Black, about why a Secret Service dog never picked up the scent of the bomb around the DNC when sweeping the area before Vice President-elect Kamala Harris arrived.
No one has been held responsible for putting the pipe bombs outside the RNC and DNC after three years, and the FBI, which is still investigating the case, has offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.
House Republicans over the past year have criticized the slow progress of the FBI’s investigation into the pipe bombs at both national committees.
One suspect was recorded walking through Capitol Hill neighborhoods carrying what federal investigators said were two live pipe bombs.
The Washington Times later reported from a now former FBI agent who worked the case in its first stages that the IEDs were likely inert.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.