House Republicans warned Thursday that Americans are “less safe” as a result of the FBI's “failure” to identify the person responsible for placing pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee nearly four years ago.
A report on the attempted bombings by Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the House Administration Committee's Oversight Committee, and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) found that “little meaningful progress” had been made in the investigation. It revealed that federal law enforcement “refused to provide substantive updates to Congress” on the current status of the investigation.
The FBI investigation “yielded a promising set of data and uncovered several persons of interest” in the first weeks of the investigation, according to lawmakers, but the case quickly went cold.
“By the end of February 2021, the FBI began diverting resources away from the pipe bomb investigation,” the report said, noting that “one possible explanation for the decline in resources is that the number of credible leads began to decline, and were no longer required.” Like many private agents to cover the workload.
“Ultimately, nearly four years after the pipe bombs were placed, no suspects have been arrested or identified,” the report concludes.
Investigators believe the two pipe bombs, which the FBI described as “viable explosive devices,” were planted outside the headquarters of the two major political parties in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021 — the night before the riot at the U.S. Capitol — by someone carrying backpack and wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, mask, gloves, glasses and a pair of Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers.
The devices were discovered the next afternoon, around the same time that Congress convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“In the immediate aftermath of January 6, the FBI team worked aggressively to find and pursue leads toward the arrest of the pipe bomb suspect,” the lawmakers said, noting that the bureau initially assigned more than 50 investigators to work the case.
“The investigation also includes a range of investigative support teams such as the Cellular Analysis Scanning Team, Computer Analysis Response Team, and Digital Imaging and Video Recovery Team,” they added. “As a result, by April 2021, the FBI had collected more than 105 million data points in connection with the investigation.”
The FBI identified several persons of interest early in the investigation, including:
- The person who searched for the term “DC pipe bomb” on the Internet before the devices were discovered – but only after the explosives were planted;
- Someone took pictures of the area where one of the bombs was placed the morning before it was planted;
- A vehicle drove past the RNC with a passenger matching the description of the suspect minutes after the bombs were planted;
- A person who owns a pair of distinctive sneakers worn by the suspect who was working near the crime scene;
- And five individuals whose cellular data matched the suspect's movements on January 5, 2021.
The FBI's actions in response to several leads — such as the person who researched the “DC pipe bomb” and the owner of the Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers — “remain unknown,” the lawmakers noted.
“In response to questions about the FBI’s inability to identify a suspect using cellular data, a former senior FBI official blamed cellular carriers for providing ‘corrupt’ data,” the report reads. “So far, the FBI has refused Compliance with multiple requests from subcommittees regarding this allegation.”
But congressional investigators cast doubt on FBI officials' claim.
“The major cellular carriers asserted that they did not submit corrupt data to the FBI and that the FBI never notified them of any issues with access to cellular data,” the lawmakers wrote.
The report also described the extent of the disaster that could have occurred if the devices had exploded.
The bombs were packed enough to seriously maim or kill innocent bystanders and were placed near commuter railway tracks.
The explosion may have produced “severe shrapnel”, causing fragments to “fly” through the exterior of the trains and causing “serious bodily injury and/or death”.
As previously reported, Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi approached the devices as they traveled to and from the Democratic National Committee headquarters on January 6, 2021.
In Pelosi's case, her motorcade passed near one of the bombs after law enforcement discovered it, the report said, blaming law enforcement for failing to adequately secure the perimeter.
“The devices put numerous legislators, staff, law enforcement and residents at risk. However, nearly four years after the incident, Americans rarely have any details about who planted the bombs or why.
“This lack of information hinders Congress’ ability to legislate improvements to the security of the Capitol complex and federal law enforcement operations,” she added. “Failure to identify, apprehend, and prosecute the bomber ultimately makes all Americans less safe.”
FBI representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
