House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) vowed that all footage regarding the protests at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will be released to every news outlet.
During an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” McCarthy said the American people should be allowed to see the footage and form their own perspectives.
His comments came after he received criticism for giving Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to the tapes.
“I didn’t give [Carlson] the tapes, I allowed him to come see them, just like an exclusive with anybody else. My goal here is transparency,” McCarthy told host Bartiromo. “We will slowly roll out to every individual news agency [so] they could come see the tapes as well.”
Maria Bartiromo asks Kevin McCarthy about Tucker Carlson's January 6th presentation:
"My goal is transparency, and we will slowly roll out to every individual news agency — they can come to see the tapes as well. The first thing I found was the January 6th committee was not… https://t.co/D5165D8IpD pic.twitter.com/USIK0mg0Og
— kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 12, 2023
McCarthy accused the former House Jan. 6 Committee of pushing a “false” narrative about the protests. He compared the Capitol protests on Jan. 6 to the violent racial protests; over the death of George Floyd; that occurred in the summer of 2020.
“Why did I watch cities burn … and nobody arrested there? I think we should have equal justice across this country, and we should have transparency,” McCarthy said. “I think transparency is best and allow the American public to see it all. And we need to have equal justice across this nation.”
On Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson aired several clips of the protests and concluded that lawmakers and media outlets lied about the events of that day.
Carlson said the footage appeared to dismiss claims pushed by the former House Jan. 6 Committee, like that Trump supporters “invaded” the Capitol and violently attacked law enforcement.
He claimed the footage contradicted the media’s claim about Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s death.
“This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie that Democrats told us about January 6. They lied about the police officer they claimed to revere,” the host added. “If they were willing to do that, then their dishonesty knew no limits.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized Carlson’s description of the protests, saying he downplayed the “violence” that occurred on Jan. 6.
While speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer said: “To say January 6 was not violent is a lie, a lie pure and simple. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prime-time cable news anchor manipulate his viewers the way Mr. Carlson did last night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anchor treat the American people and American democracy with such disdain.”
Americans should be able to form their own opinions about the Jan. 6 protests rather than believe a politically-driven narrative.
