Rep. Banks says Jan. 6 Committee ignoring physical security of Capitol, plans report focusing on that issue

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As Republicans continue their pushback on the Jan. 6 Committee before it starts televised hearings, Rep. Jim Banks is touting his own competing report as he slams the committee for allegedly ignoring the physical security of the Capitol. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital Tuesday, Banks, R-Ind., said that despite the fact the GOP report won't have the backing of committee resources, it will present significant information about the security of the Capitol on Jan. 6. 

"We conducted… dozens of interviews with Capitol Police officers, whistleblowers, others with involvement with Capitol security who were there on Jan. 6 or leading up to it," Banks said. "I will say that we learned a lot about… breakdown of processes, procedures, policies, personnel changes leading up to Jan. 6, with leadership changes that led to issues or problems."

Rep. Jim Banks is leading an effort to produce a GOP report on Jan. 6 as an answer to an anticipated report from the Jan. 6 Select Committee. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Banks said "intelligence gathering and dissemination" was a major problem before the attack, adding "it's clear the Jan. 6 committee is not interested in that." 

"We will make recommendations to Speaker of the House-to-be Kevin McCarthy," Banks added. "We want to give him some ideas, some things to think about as he prepares to take on that role. I guarantee you, with our help, Kevin McCarthy is going to take his responsibility as speaker of the House and overseeing Capitol Security, the Capitol Police, a lot more seriously than Nancy Pelosi ever did."

The congressman said he's working on the report primarily in conjunction with members who, like him, were initially appointed to the Jan. 6 Committee by House Minority Leader McCarthy, R-Calif, but were blocked from sitting on it by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The other members were Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Troy Nehls, R-Texas, Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., and Rodney Davis, R-Ill. McCarthy is also closely involved in shaping the report, Banks said. 

Supporters of President Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate chamber inside the Capitol. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

In a call with reporters Tuesday, Banks said the release of the report is weeks away. 

As Banks focuses on Capitol security, other top Republicans are pushing slightly different points in their counter-programming to the Jan. 6 Committee hearings. 

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Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is highlighting inflation, the baby formula shortage and more as she argues Democrats are focusing on the wrong things. "Democrats are scrambling to change the headlines," she said Tuesday. 

Jordan is attacking the legitimacy and alleged liberal bias of the committee. "There's going to be no cross-examination on any of these hearings because they all agree," he said. 

But they're all part of a larger effort from Republicans to push back on the committee that's been the subject of many attacks from former President Donald Trump. That effort will continue Wednesday, with a Stefanik-led press conference set to include Banks, Jordan and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.

"I am working closely with President Trump, Leader Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, and my colleagues to help lead House Republicans in pushing back against lame-duck Speaker Pelosi's sham political witch-hunt," Stefanik told Fox News. 

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Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, flanked by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, left, and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, makes a statement on March 28, 2022. The committee will hold its first primetime hearing Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Meanwhile, the committee hearings set to be chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., will get expansive primetime coverage. That will include live coverage of the hearing on FOX Business and a two-hour reaction special on Fox News Channel anchored by chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream. 

Committee members are expected make a case about why former President Donald Trump and his allies are responsible for the attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump's supporters. They will likely highlight Trump's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, which he made over the course of months after the election. Trump then repeated those false claims at a rally in Washington, D.C., on the morning of the attack, shortly before Congress was set to meet to count electoral votes. 

Asked his thoughts on Democrats' case for why Trump is at fault for the attack, Banks emphasized apparent security breakdowns that allowed the mob of Trump supporters to break into the Capitol, sending hundreds of lawmakers into hiding. 

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"We should study the events that led up to it. Why the Capitol was left unsecured on Jan. 6 when there was intelligence dating back before Jan. 6 something was going to happen," Banks said. "Why the Capitol Police union chief said they weren't prepared… those are serious issues and questions that this committee has never tackled."

Banks added: "That's why you're seeing… poll numbers in the last couple of days, the declining number of people who blame Donald Trump for Jan. 6, because the more they learn, the more they realize… that there was a breakdown in leadership."