Fact check: Trump repeats false claim that Pelosi rejected request for National Guard ahead of Jan. 6 – USA TODAY

Pelosi: 'Never forgive' Trump, lackeys for Jan. 6

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday she would "never forgive" former President Trump and "his lackeys and his bullies that he sent to the Capitol for the trauma" that was exerted to staff during the Jan. 6 riot. (Dec. 8)

AP

As a House committee continues its investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and former President Donald Trump goes on a speaking tour, debunked narratives about the deadly insurrection are resurfacing on social media.

Reports show military and law enforcement officials were unprepared and slow to respond to the riot. Trump has repeatedly attemptedto blame that onHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,claiming sherejected his request to deploy 10,000 National Guardtroops to the Capitol ahead of his Stop the Steal rally.

Trumps claim is one of many efforts by Republicans and supporters of the former president to shift blame and downplay the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that resulted in four deaths and led to more than 600 arrests.

Trump Says Pelosi Turned Down His Request For 10,000 National Guard Troops For Jan. 6 Rally…!!! reads the caption of a Dec. 13 Facebook video that accumulated more than 4,000 views within a couple days.

The video included in the post shows Trump speaking to a crowd on Dec. 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he claimed he recommended 10,000 National Guard troops be deployed because he knew the crowd size was going to be "enormous."

I recommended 10 but I said do whatever they want, theyre running the Capitol, they know what theyre doing, Trump says in the video. And the Capitol police knew about it, she (Pelosi) knew about it, and they turned it down because they said it didnt look good.

But Trumps claim was debunked by fact-checkers in March, after he first made the statementduring a Fox News appearance, and its still not true. There is no evidence Trump made any formal request about deploying 10,000 National Guard troops before the rally.

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USA TODAY reached out to Trumps spokesperson and the Facebook page thatshared the video for additional comment.

A government memo about the events leading up to Jan. 6, statements from Pelosis office and the Pentagon and testimony from the former House sergeant-at-arms show Trump did not request 10,000 troops ahead of the rally.

Drew Hammill, Pelosi's spokesperson, told USA TODAY that Pelosis office was not consulted or contacted regarding any request for the National Guard ahead of Jan. 6,and he noted the speaker of the House does not have the power to reject that type of request.

Claims that Pelosi was in charge of Capitol security on Jan. 6 have been previously debunked by USA TODAY.The Capitol Police are overseen by the Capitol Police Board and committees from the Senate and House of Representatives.

Fact check: Post falsely claims Pelosi is blocking Capitol Police officers from testifying

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby had previously looked into Trumps claim and told The Washington Post in March that we have no record of such an order being given.

A timeline from the Department of Defense only mentions an agreement made on Jan. 4 about potentially providing 340 District of ColumbiaNational Guard members at the request of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to support traffic control points and to deploy a quick reaction force if additional support is requested by civilian authorities.

Additionally, when asked by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during a Feb. 23 Senate hearingif discussions took place on Jan. 4 with congressional leadership about bringing in the National Guard,former House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving said he "had no follow up conversations."

"It was not until the sixth that I alerted leadership that we might be making a request," Irving said. "And that was the end of the discussion."

More:Capitol riot misinformation persists: False claims continue to circulate on Facebook

While Trump never formally requested 10,000 National Guard troops, then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller told Vanity Fair that Trump brought up the figure in conversation on the night before Jan. 6.

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Pelosirejected Trump's request for 10,000 National Guard troops to be deployed before Jan. 6. Pelosi's office said the speaker was not contacted about deploying the National Guard prior to the rally, and the Pentagon has previously stated that there is no record of the request. A timeline from the Department of Defenseabout the events leading up to Jan. 6 does not include any mention of a request for 10,000 National Guard members. The former House sergeant-at-arms said he did not have any discussions with congressional leaders about the National Guard until the day of the riot.

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Fact check: Trump repeats false claim that Pelosi rejected request for National Guard ahead of Jan. 6 - USA TODAY