‘Generals lied about 1/6’
Guard big: They feared ‘optics’ of Army aid
A former DC National Guard official has alleged that top Army generals lied to Congress about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — calling the Army’s official version of that day’s events an “alternate history . . . worthy of the best Stalinist or North Korea propagandist.”
In a blistering memo obtained by Politico, Col. Earl Matthews says the Pentagon inspector general’s report on the military response to the violence contained “myriad inaccuracies, false or misleading statements, or examples of faulty analysis.”
Matthews (inset), who was serving at the time as a top military lawyer to then-DC Guard commander Maj. Gen. William Walker, vented his rage against Gen. Charles Flynn and Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, at one point describing both officers as “absolute and unmitigated liars.”
The central focus of Matthews’ claims is a call that took place at 2:30 p.m. the day of the riot, in which then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund “pleaded for the immediate support of the D.C. National Guard at the U.S. Capitol as the security perimeter at the Capitol was being breached at that very moment,” according to Matthews.
When the request was relayed to Piatt, Matthews states, he said that it would “not be his best military advice to recommend to the Secretary of the Army that the D.C. National Guard be allowed to deploy to the Capitol at that time.”
Piatt’s justification, according to the Matthews, was that
“the presence of uniformed military personnel could inflame the situation and that the police were best suited to handle the situation.”
Matthews added that Piatt, the director of the Army staff, and Flynn — now the comOversight manding general of the Army in the Pacific — agreed that “the optics of having uniformed military personnel deployed to the U.S. Capitol would not be good.” In the face of congressional investigations, Piatt and Flynn have denied saying on Jan. 6 that the DC Guard should not be deployed to the Capitol.
“At no point on January 6 did I tell anyone that the D.C. National Guard should not deploy directly to the Capitol,” Piatt wrote in June in response to questions from House Committee Chairman Car(D-NY). olyn Maloney Flynn, the younger brother of former President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, similarly told Maloney that “I did not observe LTG Piatt express concern about the visuals, image, or public perthe ception of sending D.C. Nathe tional Guard to U.S. Capiany tol at point on January 6.” But Matthews wrote in his memo: “At least 9 people then who were in the meeting heard Piatt mention optics. Only Piatt and Flynn are adamant that he did not.
“Every leader in the D.C. Guard wanted to respond and knew they could respond to the riot at the seat of government,” Matthews added. “They set [sic] stunned watching in the Armory while for the first time in its 219 year history, the D.C. National Guard was not allowed to respond to a riot in the city.”
Matthews stood by his claims when contacted by Politico.
“Our Army has never failed us and did not do so on January 6, 2021,” he said. “However, occasionally some of our Army leaders have failed us and they did so on January 6th. Then they lied about it.”
Army spokesman Mike Brady denied Matthews’ allegations.
“The Army’s actions on January 6th have been well-documented . . . Gen. Flynn and Lt. Gen. Piatt have been open, honest and thorough in their sworn testimony with Congress and DOD investigators,” Brady said.