The January 6th Committee just kicked over a Republican ant hill
We may never find out precisely how long the January 6th Committee has known that House Republican Barry Loudermilk was the one who led a Capitol tour on January 5th. Did they know from the very start? Did House Democrats withhold his name while making their initial accusations, specifically so Loudermilk would stake himself to the lie that the tour never happened, so it could hit him with this later?
In any case, now that the committee has leaked to the media that it has evidence Loudermilk did indeed lead a January 5th Capitol tour, suffice it to say that the news has kicked over a Republican ant hill. Loudermilk, who previously staked himself to the position that there was no January 5th Capitol tour, is now admitting that he did lead a such a tour – while insisting that it was merely for a constituent family and that it didn’t involve any sensitive areas. Perhaps he’s telling the truth, and that’ll come out one way or the other. But Loudermilk did just get caught having previously lied about the tour, so there will be questions about whether he’s also lying now.
In any case, Loudermilk and his House Republican allies still don’t know precisely what “evidence” the January 6th Committee has of his January 5th Capitol tour. Is it video footage which reveals precisely who was or wasn’t on the tour? Is it an eyewitness, and if so, did the witness recognize anyone who was on the tour?
Loudermilk had to come out swiftly and strongly against the allegations, which he did – but he really doesn’t know what he’s swinging back against. If the evidence ends up telling a different story than the one that Loudermilk told in response to the news, then he’ll really be screwed. It’ll all come out before much longer. Keep in mind that the January 6th Committee has been several steps ahead of House Republicans, and the public, every step of the way.
