Blaze Media investigation triggers congressional inquiry into alleged Capitol Police perjury



A Blaze Media investigation has triggered a congressional inquiry into alleged U.S. Capitol Police perjury, according to a Friday analysis by Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker.

What are the details?

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) — who chairs the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, which has jurisdiction over Capitol Police — penned a March 1 letter to USCP Chief J. Thomas Manger, Baker noted.

The four-page missive demanded two things: more complete information about a 2016 disciplinary report concerning Special Agent David Lazarus — and details about an internal affairs investigation of Lazarus last November that stemmed directly from Blaze Media’s reporting, Baker wrote.

Loudermilk's letter notes that on Nov. 7, 2023, Lazarus was referred to the USCP Office of Professional Responsibility "for allegedly not being truthful in testimony in a high-profile criminal court case involving an incident in the Capitol building on January 6, 2021."

In the letter, Loudermilk asserted what Baker's investigation of Lazarus last October uncovered: Lazarus could not have witnessed on Jan. 6 what he testified to have seen during the Oath Keepers trial since video evidence shows Lazarus was in another part of the Capitol at the time.

Proof of Perjury | The Truth About January 6 youtu.be

What's more, neither Capitol Police nor the Justice Department made the Capitol CCTV videos of Lazarus’ movements in the Capitol on January 6 available to the Oath Keepers' defense teams, Baker said.

More from Baker's Friday analysis:

Loudermilk’s letter also provides an additional detail that, if true, would raise additional questions about federal prosecutors’ conduct of the Oath Keepers’ trial. According to Loudermilk, OPR investigators “relied on the statements of a federal prosecutor in the case in which Special Agent Lazarus was called as a witness.”

Blaze Media also learned from a congressional source that federal prosecutors “were definitely consulted/interviewed” by Capitol Police investigators during their inquiry in November.

Loudermilk's letter adds that OPR interviewed Lazarus on Dec. 18, 2023, and when an investigating USCP officer asked Lazarus if he committed perjury in his testimony, Lazarus responded, “No.”

But Loudermilk wasn't done with Lazarus.

Baker also reported in his Friday analysis that a former high-ranking USCP officer — who asked for anonymity out of fear of retaliation — had told Blaze Media about a "past disciplinary event that cast doubt on Lazarus’ trial testimony and his credibility in general."
More from Baker's analysis:
In 2016, Lazarus, who was assigned to the Dignitary Protection Division, was involved in the cover-up of an incident in which he was discovered to be drinking on duty. Lying in an internal affairs investigation is a “terminable” offense. At the very least, the incident should have been made known to the Oath Keepers’ defense team, which might have used the knowledge to impeach Lazarus’ testimony during cross-examination.

But Lazarus wasn’t fired. And the Oath Keepers’ lawyers were left in the dark.

Baker added in his Friday analysis that USCP leadership and their general counsel, Thomas “Tad” DiBiase, have resisted the efforts of Blaze Media — and even those of Loudermilk's committee — to acquire the 2016 OPR disciplinary report on Lazarus. However, Baker also reported that a senior aide with Loudermilk's committee has seen the OPR report and said its contents are “nuclear.”

In regard to the allegation that Lazarus was drinking alcohol while on duty in 2016, Loudermilk's letter revealed that despite the OPR sustaining the allegation — as well as approval of that recommendation by the USCP Inspector for the USCP Dignitary Protection Division Commander — it was all overruled by the USCP Office of General Counsel. Loudermilk's letter also said "it appears that Agent Lazarus may have intentionally given false or misleading statements" during the 2016 investigation.

In addition, Baker added in his Friday analysis that Blaze Media has learned from Oath Keeper defense attorneys that neither the USCP nor federal prosecutors disclosed Lazarus’ 2016 OPR investigation to them before his October 31, 2022, testimony.

Now what?

Loudermilk concluded his letter to USCP Chief Manger with the following:

The incomplete OPR investigation regarding Special Agent Lazarus’ testimony regarding the incident in the Capitol on January 6, 2021, coupled with the OGC overruling the recommendation of OPR and a Division Commander regarding Special Agent Lazarus’ violation of USCP policy, and the possibility Special Agent Lazarus made false statements, raises significant questions about USCP’s internal accountability and discipline structure. The lack of a robust investigation into the allegations that Agent Lazarus potentially lied under oath is unacceptable.

To better understand USCP’s internal processes and guidelines for discipline, I ask that you provide the Subcommittee with the complete USCP guidelines for OPR discipline and any additional information that informed the outcomes of these OPR investigations.

Capitol Police on Friday didn't immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment on Baker's latest analysis.

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Just-released Jan. 6 videos show Capitol Police officer lied in Oath Keepers trial, Blaze Media investigative journalist says



Just-released U.S. Capitol closed-circuit TV video clips from Jan. 6, 2021, show Capitol Police Special Agent David Lazarus gave false testimony in the Oath Keepers trial, Blaze Media investigative journalist Steve Baker reported.

What's the background?

Baker penned an analysis in October calling into question Lazarus' testimony — which helped convict the Oath Keepers — noting that time-stamped CCTV videos Blaze News observed show Lazarus in other parts of the Capitol complex at the time he said he witnessed now-former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn interacting with Oath Keepers on Jan. 6.

Baker and others could view the Jan. 6 videos only on Washington, D.C., House subcommittee terminals in a limited and restricted capacity. What's more, at the time of Baker's Oct. 4 analysis, Blaze News was permitted to publish only a single Jan. 6 screenshot of Lazarus in the Capitol after then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted the previous day, putting video permissions on hold.

By early November, U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) released multiple Jan. 6 video screenshots of Lazarus' movements in the Capitol, telling Baker in a statement that he did so because "an allegation of a Capitol Police officer lying under oath is very serious and must be fully investigated."

On Nov. 17, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said nearly all Capitol security videos from Jan. 6 — nearly 40,000 hours' worth — will be made available online to the public. Johnson's announcement followed Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson's appeal to the speaker to release all the videos.

On Friday, Baker said Blaze News finally received permission to publish the Lazarus video clips, which appear in a new video BlazeTV published Monday morning titled, "The Truth about January 6: Part III: David Lazarus: Proof of Perjury."

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Baker's announcement was a response to Tarik Johnson — a former Capitol Police lieutenant — who noted on X that his sources informed him that "USCP Chief J Thomas Manger has decided NOT to investigate the allegation that USCP Special Agent David Lazarus gave false testimony in the Oath Keepers trial."

What about the just-released CCTV clips from Jan. 6?

In Monday's BlazeTV video, Baker breaks down Lazarus' whereabouts in the Capitol complex in a detailed, minute-by-minute fashion using the time-stamped video clips recorded on Capitol CCTV cameras.

While Lazarus testified that he saw Dunn with the Oath Keepers — a claim that Baker said "bolstered" Dunn's testimony — Baker reported that Lazarus "couldn't have" seen Dunn with the Oath Keepers because the CCTV videos show Lazarus "was in another building a quarter of a mile away" at that time.

What's more, Baker said that newly released videos showing Lazarus' whereabouts were "never released" to Oath Keepers' defense attorneys at the time of the trial.

"This should rock the Capitol Police," Baker said in Monday's BlazeTV video. "We received messages from our sources at the [Department of Justice] in Washington that they were 'terrified' of this story."

Then there's the screenshot Baker obtained of an internal email he said was passed between Capitol Police leadership. Baker said they "were concerned about the traction" the story was receiving.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The screenshot of the email's conclusion reads, "Something for us to keep an eye on to see if it develops or not."

Baker retorted, "Now this is interesting about the Capitol Police that they're more worried about the traction of their story than they are worried about the lie that their special agent told on the stand in the Oath Keepers' trial."

Capitol Police did not immediately reply to Blaze News' request for comment on the newly released Capitol CCTV videos of Lazarus.

Here's BlazeTV's video, "The Truth about January 6: Part III: David Lazarus: Proof of Perjury":

Anything else?

Baker's investigative efforts also resulted in two additional analyses, both focusing on Dunn: "January 6 and the N-word that wasn't" and "Harry Dunn's account of January 6 does not add up. At all."

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US Rep. releases Jan. 6 video images of Capitol Police officer who Blaze News writer says appears to have lied in court



U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) has released video images from Jan. 6, 2021, showing the movements of a Capitol Police officer who Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker said appears to have given false testimony regarding his whereabouts that day during a key encounter with members of the Oath Keepers.

Loudermilk, chairman of the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, said in a statement to Baker that he released the still frames — from closed-circuit TV video with timestamps — of U.S. Capitol Police Special Agent David Lazarus because "an allegation of a Capitol Police officer lying under oath is very serious and must be fully investigated."

What's the background?

Baker's Oct. 4 investigative story for Blaze News was based on his exhaustive examination of Jan. 6 CCTV video to which he was given access.

In that story, Baker noted that Jan. 6 prosecutors — in their attempt to prove Oath Keepers were guilty of trying to overthrow the U.S. government — said members of the group were involved in a contentious interaction with law enforcement at the top of the stairs next to the Capitol Rotunda, which also is known as the small or mini rotunda or the Speaker’s Lobby.

However, Baker said no video evidence from Capitol CCTV cameras was presented to the jury — despite the existence of at least 1,700 cameras in and around the building and grounds and 41,000 hours of footage. In fact, Baker said much of the video footage has been kept from the public defenders as well as the public.

Baker said prosecutors instead relied on the accounts of two law enforcement officers. One of them, Baker said, is Lazarus, a member of the security detail for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Baker said Lazarus testified that he passed USCP Officer Harry Dunn engaging with four Oath Keepers “three or four times” while he was evacuating Pelosi staffers trapped in a locked office in her chambers.

However, Baker said Lazarus could not have witnessed the interaction "because Lazarus was in another Senate office building across the street from Constitution Ave. at the time the encounter between Dunn and the Oath Keepers began." Baker noted that his Blaze Media investigation tracked Lazarus "while he was escorting Senators and staff on Capitol CCTV cameras."

Here's one of the timestamped Lazarus images that Loudermilk released to Blaze News:

Image source: U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Georgia

Baker broke down the details in an X thread and included other released video images of Lazarus as well:

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Baker then offered a final note about Lazarus with another timestamped image of him: "At 2:56:46 p.m., Lazarus can be seen finally reaching the bottom of the staircase - at the top of which he claimed to have witnessed Dunn's 'very antagonistic' interaction with four Oath Keepers '3 or 4' times while rescuing '11 or 12' of Pelosi's staff from their offices."

Image source: U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Georgia

Baker added the following in his X thread:

Dunn and Lazarus contradicted each other in their respective Oct. 31, 2022 trial testimonies. Dunn first claimed to have seen Lazarus already at the top of that staircase when he arrived at 2:44 p.m., being "hassled" by protestors.

By contrast, Lazarus testified that he saw Dunn already standing at the top of the staircase landing when he came up from behind him on those stairs. Both men lied in their conflicting stories because Lazarus was in a Senate office building at that moment in time.

It is a physical impossibility for either Dunn or Lazarus to have seen what they claimed in their testimonies in the Oath Keepers trial, and this is borne out by what myself and other @theblaze analysts saw on Capitol CCTV videos from access given to us by @RepLoudermilk.

In the end, Baker noted, prosecutors got their convictions of the Oath Keepers, who were soon sentenced to numerous years behind bars.

Capitol Police on Monday did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment regarding Loudermilk's release of video images to Blaze News showing Lazarus' movements in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as regarding Baker's assertions about the timestamped images and Lazarus' testimony.

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