Former US President Donald Trump pinned the blame for the Capitol riots on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump’s accusations came just hours before the January 6 committee started its eighth session on July 21, 2022.

Trump asked on Truth Social, his own social media platform, why the House Select Committee was not questioning Pelosi and Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser.

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The former President asked why Pelosi and Bowser rejected “his recommendation on January 3rd of 10,000 to 20,000 troops to stand guard at the Capitol Building on January 6th.” He added, “Had they followed this recommendation, there would have been no problem on January 6th.”

According to reports from CNBC, there is no material evidence of Pelosi rejecting Trump’s request to sanction the deployment of the National Guard in Washington DC. The report also suggests that the National Guard forces in the state capital fall under the President’s control.

Liz Cheney, the Vice Chair of the January 6 committee, addressed the National Guard’s case at a public hearing. Cheney, a Republican, said that Trump “gave no order to deploy the National Guard that day, and made no effort to work with the Department of Justice to coordinate and deploy law enforcement assets.”

The National Guard had a delayed response to the January 6 riots. It took roughly four hours before the Capitol Police chief made the call for backup. 

Also Read: Jan 6 hearing: Secret Service deleted text messages regarding Capitol riots

The House committee said in December that Mark Meadows, Trump’s former aide, had “sent an email to an individual about the events on Jan. 6 and said that the National Guard would be present to ‘protect pro-Trump people’ and that many more would be available on standby.”

The January 6 committee’s hearing on July 21 will be focusing Trump’s inaction when the Capitol was being attacked by his supporters, who wished to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential elections.