House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that all footage gathered by the former House January 6th Committee regarding the protests at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, will be released to every individual news outlet.
During an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” McCarthy said the American people should be allowed to see all surveillance footage from the Capitol Building that day and form their own opinions, rather than see only what the Democratic-controlled committee previously released.
His comments came amid some backlash after McCarthy allowed Fox News’ Tucker Carlson the opportunity to see tens of thousands of hours of never-before-seen video, some of which appeared to show moments of armed security peacefully escorting protesters throughout the Capitol building.
“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.”
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at the U.S. Capitol Building on March 10, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In his remarks, McCarthy compared the protests at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to the violent racial protests and others that escalated into attacks on structures and police in the preceding summer.
“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,” the House speaker 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.”
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., outside his office in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 07, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
On Monday, March 6, the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host said he was given exclusive access by McCarthy to view over 40,000 hours of footage from the Jan. 6 protests.
Carlson then aired some clips from the collection and concluded they prove certain lawmakers and some members of the media were “lying” about the events of that day.
The Fox News host said the footage has been hidden from the public for over two years, as it appeared to dispel several narratives pushed by the Democrat-controlled House Select Committee, like that Trump supporters invaded the building and were responsible for a “deadly insurrection.”
Carlson also claimed the footage contradicted the injury of Officer Brian Sicknick, who later died. The media claimed he was “attacked” by protesters.
“This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie that Democrats told us about January 6th,” Carlson told viewers, providing footage of Sicknick guiding Trump supporters throughout the Capitol after he was allegedly hit by a fire extinguisher.
“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.”
The footage was provided and known to the House Jan. 6 Committee before the release of its final report. The committee disbanded as Republicans took over the majority in the House earlier this year.
