Before Mob Stormed the Capitol, Days of Security Planning Involved

President Donald Trump met with top military officials and gave his approval to activate the D.C. National Guard three days before he encouraged a mob of angry protesters to take their grievances to the U.S. Capitol.

A Pentagon memo released Friday offers these insights, as well as the first detailed timeline of the bungled law enforcement response to Wednesday’s insurrection.

The timeline shows that the planning started at least as far back as Dec. 31 and included discussion with select Cabinet members of the potential need for Pentagon reinforcements.

But it also leaves many questions unanswered, including why the U.S. Capitol Police declined repeated offers of assistance from military officials and the full extent of how much Trump knew about the security planning or was involved in decision-making.

The memo, first reported on by NBC News on Friday evening, presents a limited account of the days before the insurrection, and reports have questioned the completeness of the Pentagon’s version of events and the effectiveness of its planning and response. But the memo may well provide a partial roadmap as legislators call for an investigation into how pro-Trump protesters breached the Capitol in a riot that left five people dead, including one Capitol Hill police officer. Three officials who supervise the force have already submitted resignations.

Here’s what we know so far, and what we don’t.

There was nearly a week of preparation

The Pentagon’s timeline begins on the last day of 2020, when Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and another city official delivered a written request for D.C. National Guard support on Wednesday. For weeks, Trump supporters had shared plans on social media for descending on Washington that day to protest the election results as Congress certified the Electoral College votes that sealed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. In the days after, Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller met with “select Cabinet Members,” the memo says without specifying which, to discuss Defense Department involvement and “potential requirements” for DOD support.

The Pentagon says Trump authorized the National Guard deployment days before the protest, but the timeline does not say what that entailed

On Sunday, Jan. 3, Miller and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, met with Trump. According to the memo, the president “concurs in activation”…