Examining the Investigation into the DNC and RNC Pipe Bombs
House Select Subcommittee to Investigate the Remaining Questions Surrounding January 6, 2021
2026-01-14
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The hearing will now come to order. Welcome, everyone, to the first hearing of the Select Subcommittee to investigate the remaining questions surrounding the January 6, 2021 events titled Examining the Investigation into the DNC and RNC Pipe Bombs. Thank you, Rankin Member Raskin and members of the Select Committee and witnesses for joining us here today. I note that a quorum is present. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare recess at any time. I'll now recognize myself for an opening statement. I've been investigating the remaining questions surrounding January 6th for three years. When this particular subcommittee was formed in September of last year, I directed my team that oversight of the FBI's investigation to the DNC and RNC pipe bombs would be a top priority. In many ways, the bizarre constellation of facts surrounding the discovery of the pipe bomb is emblematic of the many unresolved questions about January 6th that remain today. What information did federal law enforcement have? When did they have it? And what did they do with it? How did the Joe Biden and Merrick Garland's Department of Justice prioritize the apprehension and prosecution of Americans trespassing on restricted Capitol grounds relative to the apprehension of the pipe bomber? How was it that the Biden-Ray FBI was able to flawlessly execute a cellular dragnet to capture the information and eventually apprehend those trespassing at the Capitol, but failed to exercise the same investigative technique into the pipe bomber? How is it that the Democrat-controlled Select Committee to investigate January 6th managed to write a final report in which they cover more than 700 pages and eight chapters without ever mentioning the pipe bombs until an appendix in the back of the report? Was information related to the pipe bombs part of the more than one terabyte of information that the Select Committee failed to retain and in some cases deleted from computers just days before the Republicans took over the majority in 2023? These questions and many more remain unanswered. The significance of the pipe bombs and how the events of January 6th unfolded cannot be overstated. The evidence suggests that the pipe bomb's discovery diverted significant law enforcement attention and resources away from the Capitol the exact time they were needed most.
It's hard to comprehend why both the Ray FBI and the Select Committee, despite their shared zeal for bringing to justice those who trespassed at the Capitol, have shown little effort or interest regarding the pipe bombs. As a quick refresher, at 1749 p.m. on January 5th, 2021, a suspect placed a pipe bomb next to a bench beside the Democrat National Committee headquarters building, then placed a second device in an alley near the RNC. Fortunately, neither pipe bomb detonated. After laying in plain sight for nearly 17 hours, both devices were independently discovered on January 6th within a few minutes of the vote to certify the election results. On January 6th at 1.05 p.m., Capitol Police responded to a pipe bomb reported at the RNC and at the same time that protesters began surging outside the Capitol and the legislators prepared to certify the vote. The Capitol Police Chief had to split his team, sending significant resources to handle two pipe bomb incidents. In addition to diverting resources away from the Capitol, the security perimeter set up around the DNC due to the discovery of the pipe bomb prevented Capitol Police from receiving the delivery of an additional 400 bike racks that had been requested to serve as protective barriers. The urgent need for 400 bike racks arose after nearly 500 racks were unexpectedly removed from the Capitol on the evening of January 5th. The removal of these bikes were, according to Valerie Hasbury, who was the chief security officer for the architect of the Capitol, she said this was absolutely illogical. The discovery of the pipe bombs on January 6 further disrupted efforts to establish those boundaries and strained security resources. The placement and timing of the pipe bombs discovery proved critical in blurring the lines between public space and restricted Capitol grounds, and therefore made it easier for protesters to enter the Capitol building on January 6. The Biden-Garland Department of Justice boasted that the Wray FBI pursued their investigations of Americans following the events on
at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, with, quote, unprecedented speed and scale, end quote. We now know that for 47 out of Joe Biden's 48 months in office, the Wray FBI held in its possession the critical evidence identifying Brian Cole Jr. as the pipe bomber, but failed to make any progress on the case. In contrast, in October of 2025, the Patel FBI put together a designated red team consisting of law enforcement officers from outside the FBI, Within six weeks of its creation, the Red Team identified Brian Cole Jr. as a suspect using material and evidence the FBI had in its possession since February of 2021. On December 4, 2025, four years, 11 months, and two days after the event, the Patel FBI arrested Cole for allegedly planting the pipe bombs. FBI operational updates and internal after-action report paint a dismal picture of the Wray FBI's investigation of the bombs. While there is evidence showing that some resources were dedicated to the investigation, there is also evidence that critical components of the investigation were slow walked and then resources were cut. Just two months in, for example, cast the cell analysis team reported quote difficulties in getting the Washington Field Office to accept help. Deployment delayed, end quote. Then on February 26, 2020, the FBI noted that the Washington Field Office's pipe bomb investigation team was quote expected to decrease in the coming weeks, end quote. same time fbi was diverting resources from the case given the significant evidence against cole in multiple categories it's it is difficult to understand how he was not identified as a suspect in the spring of 2021 why did it take a team of non-fbi personnel who re-examined the evidence to develop cole as a suspect was this merely incompetence if so what can be done to better equip our fbi the ray fbi's failure to act on the evidence in their possession demands thorough examination. Additionally, there are still critical details regarding this case that must be understood. First, what was the pipe bomb suspect doing on the phone during the course of planting the devices?
Does this activity implicate any other suspects? Second, on January of 2025, my team issued a report that discussed the FBI's investigation into a computer search conducted after the pipe bombs were planted, but before they were discovered, a search that read, pipe bombs, DC.
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