US Senate report argues FBI, 'downplayed' intel about Jan. 6 attack

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, downplayed intelligence about potential violence during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, according to a Senate report released Tuesday.

The investigation by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee found that the agencies "obtained multiple tips from numerous sources in the days and weeks leading up to the attack."

"Rather, those agencies failed to fully and accurately assess the severity of the threat identified by that intelligence, and formally disseminate guidance to their law enforcement partners with sufficient urgency and alarm to enable those partners to prepare for the violence that ultimately occurred on January 6th," said the report issued by Democrats.

Sen. Gary Peters said in a statement that the agencies failed to share "critical information" about the attack "despite the high volume of tips and online traffic about the potential for violence – some of which the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis were aware of as early as December 2020."

“My report shows there was a shocking failure of imagination from these intelligence agencies to take these threats seriously, and there is no question that their failures to effectively analyze and share the threat information contributed to the failures to prevent and respond to the horrific attack that unfolded at the Capitol," he said. "I’ll continue pressing for our national security apparatus and intelligence agencies to learn from their missteps so that an attack of this nature never happens again."

The report also argued that the FBI produced "only two limited raw intelligence documents" related to Jan. 6 -- both issued the night before the attack.

"I&A (Office of Intelligence and Analysis) did not issue any intelligence products specific to January 6 th, and instead provided only general information on nationwide threats," it said.