Politics
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 2.21.23

Democrats In Panic Mode After McCarthy Releases Jan. 6 Surveillance Video to Carlson

Democrats In Panic Mode After McCarthy Releases Jan. 6 Surveillance Video to Carlson

Politics
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 2.21.23

Several Democrats expressed disdain and disappointment in House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) decision to hand over some 41,000 hours of surveillance video footage of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol Building to producers for Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

“It’s hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly,” former January 6 Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) noted Monday in a statement.

“If Speaker McCarthy has indeed granted Tucker Carlson — a Fox host who routinely spreads misinformation and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s poisonous propaganda — and his producers access to this sensitive footage, he owes the American people an explanation of why he has done so and what steps he has taken to address the significant security concerns at stake,” he added.

Axios sources have indicated that TV producers working with Carlson started to review the footage on Capitol Hill last week.

“[T]here was never any legitimate reason for this footage to remain secret,” Carlson told Axios. “If there was ever a question that’s in the public’s interest to know, it’s what actually happened on January 6.”

During the events of January 6, 2021, a group of people breached the U.S. Capitol, interrupting a joint session of Congress that was in the process of certifying the 2020 presidential election results in favor of President Joe Biden. According to Capitol Police, cameras located in and around the Capitol recorded over 14,000 hours of footage between noon and 8 p.m. that day.

However, Axios suggests that an additional nearly 30,000 hours of footage related to the event also exist, the Daily Wire reported.

“By definition, this video will reveal it,” Carlson said. “It’s impossible for me to understand why any honest person would be bothered by that.”

Other Democrats are upset by the decision to release all the video as well. According to Newsweek, Democratic lawmakers are unhappy with the fact that the footage was not released to all media outlets. They are concerned that broadcasting un-curated footage could potentially fuel conspiracy theories leading up to the 2024 election, the outlet reported.

Another former member of the January 6th committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), implied that the newly released footage may serve as a basis for “MAGA propaganda.” Raskin previously blamed the U.S. Electoral College for the assault on the Capitol.

“McCarthy giving 40,000 hrs of Jan. 6 tape to a pro-Putin journalist is an astounding ethical collapse. What security precautions were taken to keep this from becoming a roadmap for 2024 insurrection? Why isn’t it available to all media & public? Smell the MAGA propaganda coming,” he tweeted on Monday.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), another Jan. 6 committee member recently banned from the House Intelligence Committee for allegedly ” severely undermining its primary national security and oversight missions — ultimately leaving our nation less safe,” also complained.

“Kevin McCarthy turned over Jan 6 videos to right-wing propagandist Tucker Carlson. A man who spews Kremlin talking points. Suggests Jan 6 was a false flag. And spreads the Big Lie. Make no mistake: This isn’t about transparency, it’s about fueling dangerous conspiracy theories,” he tweeted.

McCarthy previously indicated his intention to pursue the disclosure of unreleased U.S. Capitol security footage from the day of the riot.

The Speaker told reporters the American public “should see” what happened while taking a shot at the January 6 Committee’s final report that he said was “written for a political basis.”

“We’re looking through that,” McCarthy said. “I want to be very thoughtful about it. But yes, I’m engaged to do that.”

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