UPDATE: Bomb Sniffing Dog Performed Vehicle Search AND Separate Sweep Outside DNC Hours Before 'Pipe Bomb' was Discovered

Surveillance video shows a trained canine performed a check of a vehicle in front of the Democratic National Committee on the morning of Jan 6. How did the dog and his handler miss the pipe bomb?

Feb 13: This post has been updated to include the discovery of additional surveillance video that shows a man who appears to be the same handler using the same canine to perform a general sweep of the premises before the vehicle search.

An individual who appeared to be part of a security team guarding the Democratic National Committee headquarters used a canine to conduct a search of a small sport utility vehicle in front of the building more than three hours before a plain-clothed Capitol Police officer discovered an alleged pipe bomb just a few feet away on January 6.

Grainy footage recently obtained by "Declassified with Julie Kelly” from Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk adds yet another question to the unsolved mystery of the so-called January 6 pipe bomber. The FBI claims the suspect planted the devices between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on January 5 near both the DNC and Republican National Committee headquarters. (A woman allegedly doing her laundry found a device near the RNC around 12:40 p.m. on January 6.)

But despite the FBI’s ongoing investigation and a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator, no one has been identified or charged.

Video Raises More Troubling Questions

At roughly 9:44 a.m. on January 6, an unidentified SUV pulled into the driveway of the DNC building.

The vehicle sat idle for approximately five minutes; at 9:49 a.m., a dog that appears to be a breed of shepherd and his handler approached the driver’s side of the vehicle. The handler walked to the back of the vehicle and pressed the unlock button on the rear liftgate; it slowly opened. The dog used his front legs to partially enter the back of the vehicle for a several seconds then exited. His handler proceeded to the back of the passenger side of the vehicle, opened the door slightly, and allowed the dog to sniff for a few seconds.

The guard then walked to the front of the vehicle to complete a perimeter search. As another security guard moved a traffic cone in front of the garage door and permitted the vehicle to enter the DNC building, the canine and his handler walked in the direction of two exterior benches where the alleged explosive device was discovered at 1:07 p.m., which is shown on the right. (Video of the canine and handler walking in front of the benches is not available.)

UPDATE:

Surveillance footage from the same camera showed a general sweep of the exterior area of the DNC beginning at 9:29 a.m. The handler approached the driveway from the area where the alleged device was located.

Then-Senator Kamala Harris and her Secret Service detail, which included officers with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, arrived at the DNC at 11:25 a.m. on January 6. Harris has never explained why she, as the incoming vice president and sitting U.S. Senator involved in the certification proceedings that day, left the Capitol following a briefing of the Senate Intelligence Committee at 10:00 a.m. and went to the DNC a few blocks away.

It is unclear why the Secret Service apparently did not conduct a sweep of the premises before her arrival. And it’s unknown whether the handler is associated with the Secret Service or another government law enforcement agency.

Video retrieved from the same security camera published last month by Darren Beattie at Revolver News showed law enforcement’s lackadaisical response to the discovery of the alleged pipe bomb. Despite the presence of the incoming vice president and her staff as well as the presence of children and passersby outside, officers with the Secret Service, MPD, and Capitol Police seemed unconcerned with the threat that could have taken the life of the first woman elected vice president and several others.

Her arrival at the DNC that morning also means multiple officers and agents did not discover the device sitting in plain view for nearly two hours. Harris is seen on a separate video camera exiting the building around 1:17 p.m.

The occupant or occupants of the vehicle are unknown; other cars that entered the garage before this vehicle that morning were not subjected to the same search.

According to the FBI’s bulletin about the pipe bomber, the devices contained “homemade black powder.” Bomb-sniffing dogs are trained to detect numerous types of chemicals associated with explosive devices including black smokeless powders. Top FBI officials insisted the pipe bombs found at the RNC and DNC were legit. “These pipe bombs were viable devices that could have been detonated, resulting in serious injury or death,” FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Steven D’Antuono said during a video message in March 2021.

He later told Congress his agents failed to find the pipe bomber.