Questions about the failure of officials to adequately prepare for yesterday's assault on The Capitol are likely to remain unanswered —if those answers are sought through Freedom of Information requests to the Capitol Police.
Records of the Capitol Police are not subject to FOIA. Requests are a dead-end street.
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/foia-request-u…
I am reminded of the Bevin administration's recently adopted "two in - two out" policy that was relied on as the basis for refusing the Poor People's Campaign access to Kentucky's Capitol in June 2018.
https://amp.courier-journal.com/amp/672194002
Local counsel for the Poor People's Campaign, Margaret O'Donnell, immediately sprung into action, submitting extensive open records requests to Bevin's office, the Kentucky State Police, and Historical Properties for records relating to communications about the policy and its implementation.
Historical Properties was cooperative but could furnish few records — Bevin's office and KSP, not so clearly. Their refusal/inability to produce responsive records confirmed that the policy was a fabrication designed to exclude members of the Poor People's Campaign alone.
The paucity of records produced was utterly damning. But KSP and Bevin's Office could not escape public scrutiny. The open records law exposed the agencies' lies and misrepresentations.
Because the Freedom of Information Act is inapplicable to the Capitol Police, its communications will remain a government sanctioned secret.
