Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California upheld his decision on Tuesday to temporarily grant Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of Capitol video beginning on January 6, 2021.
McCarthy responded with a resounding “No” when reporters asked him if he regretted his action, according to The Hill. “Transparency, as I indicated at the outset. So, exactly as I stated, I wanted to produce something for everyone “explained McCarthy. The public might actually view it and observe the events of that day.
The speaker declined to support Carlson’s assertions. The previously unseen video demonstrated that the Capitol demonstration was not a “deadly rebellion.” McCarthy claimed he was ignorant of the Monday evening remarks made by the Fox News anchor.
“I still maintain that my responsibility in this situation is to ensure that all of the transparency is revealed, as I was asked to do previously. And that’s exactly what I’m doing, he continued, pointing out that journalists can “interpret whichever they want.”
The outlet later reported that McCarthy had repeated his criticism of the rally on January 6.
Democrats in Congress, the Sicknick family, and the Biden administration have all denounced McCarthy’s decision to provide Fox News early access to the 41,000 hours of tapes and Carlson’s subsequent reporting on it.
The memo by Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger saying that Carlson’s show was spreading “offensive and inaccurate conclusions about the Jan. 6 incident” was supported by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, who admitted his support on Tuesday.
McConnell told reporters, “I think it was a mistake for Fox News to portray this in a way absolutely at odds with what our leading law enforcement official here at the Capitol” said.
McCarthy said late last month the surveillance tape will eventually be shared “out to the entire country” once Fox News has done the primetime broadcast of it.
