How the aftermath of Jan. 6 still challenges the Capitol

Geoff Bennett:

And Lisa Desjardins and Liz Landers join us now.

Lisa, we will start with you.

The U.S. Capitol is still living with the aftermath of January 6. What does this latest effort by Republicans to minimize what happened on that day, what does that mean for lawmakers and for the Capitol Police officers who protect them?

Lisa Desjardins:

That's right. The Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police of Washington, D.C., are really those caught in this rhetorical crossfire.

A plaque honoring them and commemorating their fight to protect the Capitol on that day by law was supposed to be installed on the West Front of the Capitol. And for years, it has not gone up. Now, House Speaker Mike Johnson, through a spokesperson to us, said that now it cannot go up because of logistics.

They say some 3,000 names would have to go on it. They haven't figured out how to do that. And that may well be a real challenge. However, why has it taken years to even acknowledge that there was a problem here? Why hasn't there been a real effort under way to get that plaque up?

I don't need to remind viewers that Capitol Police faced real hand-to-hand combat for many of those hours on Capitol Hill, some of them by themselves. National Guard backup did not come for a long time. And now they also feel somewhat abandoned by some lawmakers here in the Capitol as well.

Geoff Bennett:

And, Liz, as we saw, you covered that demonstration today. Tell us more about what unfolded and what you saw.

Liz Landers:

Yes, Geoff, there are about 100 or 200 or so of these January 6 defendants, along with their family members and their supporters, who came to Washington today and kind of recreated what had happened on January 6.

They expressed gratitude to President Trump for pardoning them. Of course, that changed many of their lives after some received quite long sentences. Also, both Enrique Tarrio and Guy Reffitt said to me that they do not regret their actions of that day, that they would do it all over again.

And one theme we heard too over and over again, Geoff, is this frustration from these January 6'ers that the Department of Justice and the FBI has not gone after the Biden legal system to prosecute those people that had prosecuted them, a lot of talk of retribution.

Geoff Bennett:

President Trump did not commemorate the day. He mentioned January 6 only briefly in remarks to House Republicans. What did he have to say?

Liz Landers:

Yes, he mentioned this only in passing today. He did not officially commemorate January 6. He mentioned this at the Kennedy Center while he was speaking to House Republicans, complaining actually about the media coverage around January 6.

The White House, though, did launch a new part of their official government Web site today that has a timeline recreation and trying to recreate the narrative around January 6, talking about things like calling the protest here peaceful, also saying that the participants were patriotic protesters, and repeating that false claim that the election was stolen.

Geoff Bennett:

Lisa, how are Republicans on the Hill reacting to this disinformation from the White House, these lies about what transpired on January 6?

Lisa Desjardins:

I can tell you what they're doing today, which is trying to ignore it.

I spoke with the majority leader of the Senate, John Thune, as he spoke to reporters today. He was asked twice, once by me, to react to that Web site, and, in particular, on that Web site, the claim by the Trump White House that Capitol Police were to blame for January 6, that Capitol Police provoked January 6.

He was asked first about it, and Senator Thune just said, well, we -- Capitol Police do a good job on a daily basis. I asked him again, but what do you think about this claim that blames Capitol Police? And he really did not respond to it, instead just saying, we support Capitol Police.

Capitol Police officers I speak to say, that is not support, ignoring that kind of accusation against them.

Geoff Bennett:

Lisa Desjardins, Liz Landers, our thanks to you and the team there outside the U.S. Capitol and inside the U.S. Capitol. Thanks.