Two separate groups of media organizations sent letters to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-California) over the weekend, demanding access to thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, which have so far only been released to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
McCarthy gave Carlson access to more than 44,000 hours of security footage from the January 6 attack earlier this month. Carlson has repeatedly pushed unfounded conspiracy theories about the attack during his primetime program, and has described the attempt by hundreds of loyalists to former President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 election as “vandalism” and a “forgettably minor outbreak” of violence.
Several media organizations have written to McCarthy demanding access to the footage. McCarthy, who faced opposition from extremist members of his party in his bid to become speaker, had promised far right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) that he would release the footage in exchange for his support. But Gaetz never said the footage had to be released to Carlson specifically — instead, the move was likely an attempt by McCarthy to win favor among the furthest right members of his party, especially because Carlson has been a vocal critic of McCarthy in the past.
One letter, written on behalf of CBS News, ABC News, CNN, Politico, ProPublica, Axios, and others, was sent to McCarthy on Friday.
“Without full public access to the complete historical record, there is concern that an ideologically-based narrative of an already polarizing event will take hold in the public consciousness, with destabilizing risks to the legitimacy of Congress, the Capitol Police, and the various federal investigations and prosecutions of January 6 crimes,” read the letter, which was written by attorney Charles Tobin.
A second letter, written by attorney Laura Handman on behalf of NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others, was also sent to McCarthy on Friday. “There is no basis for further delaying granting this access — to these News Organizations or any other media outlets that make similar requests,” that letter read.
McCarthy has not yet responded to either letter, Axios reported on Saturday.
McCarthy’s announcement that he was transferring the footage to Carlson last week was widely condemned, with many noting that the move presented serious security risks.
“What security precautions were taken to keep this from becoming a roadmap for 2024 insurrection?” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), a member of the House select committee that investigated the January 6 attack, said last week.
“It’s hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly,” said former chair of the January 6 committee Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi).
Others noted that McCarthy’s decision to give Carlson the footage was likely strategic.
“The only reason to give the footage exclusively to Tucker is McCarthy knows the footage will only reinforce the GOP’s preferred narrative if it is selectively released by an unrepentant manipulator and liar,” said journalist Judd Legum.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy