Why were panic buttons removed from Ayanna Pressley's office? New details

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Why were panic buttons removed from @AyannaPressley's office?

I have new details.

Aide tells me preliminary probe finds her office was mistakenly listed for a move.

BUT: Cap Police still probing. Unclear why this happened w/o her office being informed:

Opinion | One mystery involving the insurrection may be close to getting solved
Democrats make headway in learning why panic buttons were removed from a Congresswoman's office.
washingtonpost.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/08/one-mystery-involving-insurrection-may-be-close-getting-solved/

*snip*

A Democratic aide to the House Administration Committee, which is examining the matter, tells me that the preliminary belief is that it might have been a mistake. He emailed:

A preliminary investigation suggests that Pressley’s office was inadvertently placed on the Architect of the Capitol move list, and a vendor wrongly removed their duress buttons through a clerical screw-up.

The aide added that “it is likely relevant” that Pressley took over the office of former congresswoman Katie Hill (D-Calif.) in an office swap at the beginning of the last Congress. Hill subsequently resigned amid an ethics investigation, which may have erroneously placed that office (despite its having been traded to Pressley) on a list to be emptied out at the end of the last Congress.

That may have resulted in the removal of the duress buttons, the aide says.
The office of every member of Congress has duress buttons (attached to a front office desk and others throughout the lawmaker’s suite) which summon the Capitol Police, the aide notes. They are sometimes removed to make it possible for furniture to be moved without jostling the buttons and sending the police a duress notification.

*snip*

*cough*bullshit*cough*

[louis-t]

1. My bullshit meter just went off.

[Progressive Jones]

9. Mine started smoking... nt

[Hortensis]

19. Yup.

[poli-junkie]

2. Reminds me of the cameras not working in Epstein's jail.

[rampartc]

3. bullshit

any congresscritter assigned to the office would need a button. why remove it?

[StarfishSaver]

8. They said they temporarily remove them for the move because they can go off

Which makes sense.

Also, it's the House Administration Committee (chaired by Zoe Lofgren with Jamie Raskin as the senior Democratic member) investigating and reporting this, so I'm willing to wait to see what they conclude, without jumping to conclusions. It's possible there is an innocent explanation. And if there isn't one, I have confidence that the Committee won't cover anything up.

I'll wait to see what the investigation reveals.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

15. Waiting for more info makes sense. I've only read about 1 office with panic buttons disabled.

[StarfishSaver]

23. Why wait for more information when we can flail around in outrage?

[FSogol]

16. Thanks for trying to be the voice of reason. n/t

[onecaliberal]

4. Who removed it?

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Wow,more CYA.

Nuf already.

[crickets]

6. What utter nonsense.

Any representative in that office would need the same equipment. I don't believe the "jostling" excuse either, which still would not explain why the buttons were not replaced. These sound like backfill excuses, and not very good ones.

[Karma13612]

7. Backfill excuses indeed!..nt

[ProfessorGAC]

10. So, The Democrats On The Committee...

...are covering for the bad guys? Really?
This is an internal investigation run by & for the House, which is run by the dems.
Why would they participate in a cover up? They're the folks whose lives were at risk that day!

[crickets]

11. It was my impression that these are excuses from the vendor.

I'm not blaming other Dems at all or implying a coverup by Democrats. Perhaps there really was a screw-up with no ill intent behind it. I'm doubtful, and still unimpressed with the reasons given for why it happened. Here's hoping there's more information coming that will clear up the matter.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. We Agree On That

But, I'm reading it as the committee's read on the findings of the investigation.
An aide for a congressperson on the committee is quoted. That's why I concluded the dems in charge are the ones reporting this.

[StarfishSaver]

14. Thank you

Some of us are just posed for outrage, regardless the facts.

[cwydro]

24. This.

Indeed. Well said.

[StarfishSaver]

17. I guess the Democratic-controlled will decide what actually happened

If, after an investigation, they find this explanation to be valid, will you believe them? Or will you assume they're in on it somehow?

[flying_wahini]

12. I'm throwing down th bullshit flag on this.

Somebody pulled it before the Insurrection. I smell a Big Fat Rat.

[StarfishSaver]

18. Why not wait until the House Admin Committee - controlled by Dems - completes its investigation

Before throwing down your flag?

[flying_wahini]

21. Because it stinks to high hell, that's why.

[StarfishSaver]

22. You already know the truth, so there's nothing for the House Admin Committee to investigate

Gotcha.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. My Bullshitometer broke the peg and spun around twice.