McCarthy gives Jan 6 security footage to Tucker Carlson

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Thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the January 6 attack on the US Capitol are being made available to the Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a stunning level of access granted by the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, that Democrats condemned as a “grave” breach of security.

The hard-right host said his team was spending the week at the Capitol, preparing to reveal their findings.

Granting exclusive access to January 6 security footage to such a deeply partisan figure is a highly unusual move, seen by some critics as essentially outsourcing House oversight to a TV personality who has promoted conspiracy theories about the attack.

“It’s a shocking development that brings in both political concerns but even more importantly, security concerns,” said Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat who was a chief counsel during Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Many critics warned that Capitol security could be endangered if Carlson aired security footage that details how rioters accessed the building and routes lawmakers used to flee to safety. A sharply partisan retelling of the Capitol attack could accelerate a dangerous rewriting of the history of January 6, when Trump encouraged supporters to attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s election.

“It is not lost on anyone that the one person that the speaker decides to give hours and hours of sensitive secret surveillance footage is the person who peddled a bogus documentary trying to debunk responsibility for the January 6 riot from Donald Trump onto others,” Goldman said.

“Kevin McCarthy has turned over the security of the Capitol to Tucker Carlson and that’s a scary thought.”

The chief of Capitol police, Tom Manger, said only: “When congressional leadership or congressional oversight committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them.”

House Democrats planned to convene on Wednesday for a private call to hear from Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chaired the January 6 committee, and others. The House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, called McCarthy’s decision an “egregious security breach”.

Zoe Lofgren of California, the former chair of the House administration committee and a member of the January 6 panel, said: “It’s really a road map to people who might want to attack the Capitol again. It would be of huge assistance to them.”

Carlson, who produced a documentary suggesting the federal government used the Capitol attack as a pretext to persecute conservatives, confirmed that his team was reviewing the footage.

“We believe we have secured the right to see whatever we want to see,” Carlson said on his show on Monday.

It’s not clear what protocols Carlson and his team are using to view the material, but he said “access is unfettered”.

Republicans said McCarthy’s decision was part of his commitment to create a more transparent House and engage in oversight, as Republicans launch investigations touching many aspects of government.

“I support Speaker McCarthy’s decision,” said Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, the House administration committee chair.

Hard-right figures cheered. “For all of you that doubted we would release the tapes. Here you go!” tweeted Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, now close to McCarthy.

Rodney Davis, a former Illinois Republican, said if the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, the film-maker Alexandra Pelosi, was able to film on January 6 and release her footage, McCarthy should be able to grant Carlson access.

Others said the two situations are not comparable, as countless hours of footage have been released from many sources.

Aren't treason/sedition crimes in the USA? How are all these people not charged with whichever applies ?

The whole world must be watching this s**t show in disbelief. Like wtf... 2 years later and all these clowns that tried to overthrow the US gov't are still working within the US gov't.

The chief of Capitol police, Tom Manger, said only: “When congressional leadership or congressional oversight committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them.”

I think this is being done to aide another attack. You can not prosecute people for things you think they are doing(plotting insurrection 2.0) without hard evidence. As far as I know that footage is not classified.

I am sure whom ever drafted the rules never envisioned The speaker of the house and most members of the majority party would be involved in trying to overthrow the government they are a key part of.

I know you Canadians scoffed at Trump when he said build a wall but you might want to rethink that one.