The chief investigative counsel for the House January 6 committee concluded that failures by federal law enforcement officials played a significant role in the January 6 riot and if those agencies had simply acted on the intelligence they had before hand, they could have prevented the riot.

Former federal prosecutor Tim Heaphy revealed his findings to NBC News in an exclusive interview Tuesday, which the Democrat-controlled committee “left out of its televised hearings and final report.”

Heaphy said that while former President Donald Trump was “the proximate cause” for the events of that day, “what happened at the Capitol was also affected by law enforcement failures to operationalize the ample intelligence that was present before Jan. 6, about the threats of violence.”

“Law enforcement had a very direct role in contributing to the security failures that led to the violence,” he said. “There was a lot of advance intelligence about law enforcement, about carrying weapons, about the vulnerability of the Capitol. The intel in advance was pretty specific, and it was enough, in our view, for law enforcement to have done a better job.”

The report noted that the highly politicized committee not only chose to downplay his findings, but at times went as far as to “contradict” his conclusions.

The report outlined the following conclusions that Heaphy said that investigators found:

The Capitol Police failed to deploy enough force to defend the building, but the FBI and DHS, the federal agencies charged with collecting intelligence about domestic extremists, didn’t do enough to sound the alarm about the threat. The FBI and DHS were too cautious about exploiting so-called “open source” intelligence gleaned from social media out of misplaced concern about free speech violations. The FBI and DHS made a crucial error by not publishing a Joint Intelligence Bulletin about the threats they were seeing, which might have prompted a more robust defense of the Capitol. There was confusion about which federal agency was in charge, hampering the response once the Capitol was breached.

Heaphy said that mistakes were made that led to law enforcement not acting on tips they received that violence may break out that day, tips that were submitted weeks in advance.

“Even if individual tips don’t, by themselves, provide enough specific and credible information to take an investigative step, take a step back. If there are 50 such tips, aggregate intelligence suggests, ‘Hey, maybe we have a problem,’” Heaphy said. “That was the failure here.”

This article is a companion piece to today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.

FBI Searched Biden’s Think Tank In November, Report Claims

A new report indicates that the FBI searched the Penn Biden Center in November. CBS News published a report Tuesday that suggested the FBI was more involved in the search for classified documents related to President Biden than was previously known. Federal agents searched Biden’s office in the Penn Biden Center in November. It’s not clear what, if anything, the search turned up. It has been reported that the FBI found classified documents in Biden’s home when agents searched it in mid-January.

Santos Steps Down From Committees

New York Congressman George Santos (R) told House Republican colleagues that he will recuse himself from sitting on any committees. The freshman congressman, who has admitted to falsifying aspects of his career and personal life, is facing multiple investigations and a chorus of calls to resign.

Ukraine Is One Step Closer To Joining NATO, Report Claims

Ukraine reportedly won the support of the Baltic nations and Poland in its quest to obtain Western fighter jets today, but Poland said it could only happen in agreement with NATO countries and that it will act in “full coordination” with its allies. The U.S. and Britain show no signs that they’ve changed their stance of refusing to provide the warplanes to Kyiv after almost a year of battling Russia’s invading forces.

Winter Weather Causes Travel Headaches

Texas and surrounding states were hit with winter weather today, causing the cancellation of nearly 1,500 flights nationwide and bringing traffic to a standstill on an interstate through Arkansas. Numerous auto collisions were reported in Austin, Texas, with at least one fatality according to the Austin Fire Department. Police say they were responding to crashes about every three minutes this morning. Weather officials expect the systems to continue up through Arkansas and into Tennessee.

U.S. Surgeon General Warns Against TikTok For 13-Year-Olds

In an interview Monday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy stated that he believes children 13 years old are too young to join social media platforms, citing kids are still “developing their identity.” We have a full report in tomorrow’s Morning Wire.

McDonald’s Sales Increase

If any company is “lovin’” global inflation, it appears that it’s the fast-food chain McDonald’s. The company announced a 12% increase in global sales in the fourth quarter of 2022. Experts say consumers flocked to the home of the Big Mac for cheaper eating options as food prices surged. The report comes as new data released this week from the University of Michigan indicates that more than 10% of Americans over age 50 have an addiction to processed foods.

Pfizer’s COVID-Related Sales Dwindle

According to data reported by CNN, Pfizer’s COVID vaccine and therapy sales boom is over. The company made $57 billion in 2022 off the jab and its oral pill Paxlovid, or 60% of its total revenue, yet that number is expected to dip to just $21 billion for the year 2023. Governments have apparently overstocked on the vaccine and the pill, thus explaining the massive drop in sales.

DeSantis Announces Plan To Defund DEI At State Colleges

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a plan on Tuesday to rid the state’s public universities of DEI — or Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives. The Republican governor’s plan will abolish all DEI departments and forbid requiring so-called “diversity statements” and “diversity training.”

Michael Jackson’s Nephew To Play Late Uncle

The late-Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson will play his deceased uncle in an upcoming biopic from Lionsgate. Jaafar is the 26-year-old nephew of the late pop icon, who died in 2009. His father Jermaine Jackson is Michael’s brother and a former member of The Jackson 5.

Steph Curry Slammed For Opposing Low-Income Housing

NBA star Steph Curry is coming under scrutiny for opposing low-income housing in his neighborhood. The Golden State Warriors legend is reportedly demanding that the California town of Atherton either scrap the development of 16 townhouses on a 1.5-acre plot of land near his family’s home — or pay to build a fence and shrubbery blocking the development from his view. Critics have slammed Curry for hypocrisy as he has often used his platform to support progressive causes and to speak out against the so-called wealth gap. Both Curry and his wife have also been outspoken supporters of Biden.

This article is a companion piece to today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.