How allegations of GOP 'reconnaissance' tours are rocketing back during the run-up to the Jan. 6 hearings

In the weeks following the Jan 6. attack on the U.S. Capitol, multiple Republican members of Congress denied giving "reconnaissance tours" ahead of the attack, yet the question of whether there was inside information given to the insurrectionists has come back into the foreground of the conversation ahead of public hearings by the select committee.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), a former federal prosecutor and retired U.S. Navy Lt. Commander, revealed after Jan. 6 that she believes she witnessed insurgents doing a "reconnaissance" tour prior to the attack.

"I also intend to see that those members of Congress who abetted him — those members of Congress who had groups coming through the capitol that I saw on Jan. 5 for reconnaissance for the next day — those members of Congress who incited the violent crowd, those members of Congress that attempted to help our president undermine our democracy, I'm going see that they're held accountable," Sherrill said in a video she posted to Facebook.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) confirmed Sherrill's report, saying he saw a member of Congress providing a reconnaissance tour the night before the attack.

But Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) all denied giving reconnaissance tours.

But questions remain, including about a late-night tour of the Capitol by then Representative-elect Boebert on Dec. 12, 2020 — late on the night of the first Stop the Steal rally.

Tristen Snell, who prosecuted Trump University for the NY attorney general's office, thinks there had to be inside information from the Republican side of the aisle.

"There are 658 panes of glass in the ground floors of the Capitol. Only a dozen were not reinforced prior to January 6. The insurrectionists knew EXACTLY where those weak points were," he said. "Because they were given advance help — by pro-Trump members of Congress and their staffs.

The question of the tours exploded in May, less than one month before public hearings by the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The select committee announced that it had evidence directly contradicting denials by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) of providing tours.

Following the explosive announcement, former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal advised Loudermilk to lawyer up and take the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination.

Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig noted that GOP members of Congress could face criminal charges if their denials were false.

Questions about the tours may finally be answered during the Jan. 6 select committee public hearings that commence Thursday.

Watch Sherrill's Jan. 12 video below or at this link.