In an article yesterday on The Gateway Pundit, Joe Hoft brought up some excellent points based on a summary drafted by TGP’s Kristinn Taylor.

But one question still remains:

Where [were] U.S. Capitol Police?  Or any security for that matter?? 

While it is difficult to get a straight answer on just how well protected Congressional leadership is today, it is clear that there is robust protection afforded to our Nation’s leaders.  According to a 2017 NBC News article:

Only a small number of members in leadership positions receive full-time protective details from the Capitol Police, including the House Speaker, House and Senate Majority and Minority Leader, and House and Senate whips. Rank-and-file members sometimes receive added protection in response to specific concerns.

RollCall.com extrapolates further by citing the late Senator Orrin Hatch:

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, president pro tempore of the Senate, in a speech Wednesday said 23 armed guards protect him and his wifearound the clock in and around the Capitol and beyond. “These men and women are like family to me,” the Utah Republican said. “Over the past two and a half years, I’ve built a special bond with each of them.” 

Senator Hatch, as president pro-tempore, was third in line for the succession of the Presidency.  The Speaker of the House is second, only to the Vice President.   Hatch elaborates on this as he mentions then-Speaker Paul Ryan’s security detail as being larger than his:

 Hatch spokesman Matt Whitlock said in an email, “We can’t say much about it apart from the fact that he has it because he’s third-in-line to the Presidency, and his detail is the second largest on the Hill following Speaker Ryan.”

In a pair of confusing statements, Business Insider, in response to the Pelosi attack, reported:

Insider was able to confirm that, while she is right behind Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential line of succession, Pelosi does not qualify for round-the-clock protection by federal agents. 

“The Speaker of the House is not a Secret Service protectee,” US Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote in an email, adding that all other questions about Pelosi’s protection should be directed to the US Capitol Police.

This is a wildly misleading statement by Business Insider.  The US Capitol Police is also a federal agency, and according to their own article just three paragraphs down from this one, they cite the Senator Hatch quote above saying that he had 23 full-time agents of the US Capitol Police on security for him and his wife.  US Capitol Police operations are classified so it is impossible to get a straight answer as to the full extent of their security details.

It is difficult to conclude that US Capitol protections would lessen from the days of Senator Hatch.  Why would security weaken after the “insurrection” on January 6th, the “vandalism” at Pelosi’s home in January 2021, the mass shooting by a Bernie Sander’s supporter at the Congressional softball game?  It wouldn’t.

And Pelosi has installed what looks to be a robust security system as a result:

Let’s just pretend for one second that the most powerful woman in US Politics (yes, the Speaker is more influential than the Vice President) and 2nd in line to the United States Presidency did not have a security detail at her home, despite the event at her home in January 2021 and the US Capitol protests.  Do you believe that Nancy and Paul Pelosi, who’s net worth is estimated to be $171 million as of 2021, would not have her own private security?  Really?

Here’s a list from Axios on how much legislators have spent on private security:

The top of that list is Sen. Raphael Warnock.  He is not in line to the Presidency.  He is not worth $171,000,000.  In fact, according to Celebrity Net Worth and cited by Yahoo, he is worth about $800,000.  So, regardless of how he funds it, Sen. Warnock spends 75% of his net worth on private security but Nancy and Paul Pelosi have none?  This.  Does.  Not.  Make.  Sense.

If Pelosi spend $600,000 on security, it would be equivalent to someone making $100,000 per year spending $300 per year on security.  And that person making $100k per year is not in the line for most coveted job in the world.  $600,000 is 00.35% of Pelosi’s net worth.

In this podcast episode, I read through the FBI’s criminal complaint and come away with more questions than answers.  If the podcast fails to play, you can listen (and subscribe) here.