Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced questions from his leadership team Monday night over his plans to publicly release security footage from January 6, 2021, multiple sources told CNN – a process that he said could take some time to disseminate widely even as Fox News host Tucker Carlson has had an early glimpse.
While GOP leaders are supportive of the move to release the footage – which was one of the many concessions McCarthy made in his bid to become speaker – some lawmakers in the closed-door leadership meeting asked whether sensitive security protocols or certain evacuation routes would be exposed by taking that step.
Others questioned how long the footage is going to be dragged out in the press, with some lawmakers concerned about the optics of appearing to try to downplay a deadly insurrection in the US Capitol.
“Let’s just rip the Band-aid off and get this over with,” one GOP lawmaker told CNN.
Sources said McCarthy assured his leadership team that he wants to move swiftly, but said they need to be deliberate about how they handle it to ensure the release does not endanger their security. He also told lawmakers that other media outlets will get access to the footage after Carlson airs his exclusive, but it could take a few weeks.
CNN, along with a group of other media organizations, has signed on to a letter calling for congressional leaders to grant access to the security footage from the riot.
A congressional source familiar with the matter said there were ongoing discussions with the Capitol Police about what restrictions should be placed on the footage and that it remained unclear exactly what limitations would be on the video that Carlson will be allowed to air. But even giving Carlson the video footage has spawned widespread concerns, given the conservative host has pushed conspiracy theories about the attack and downplayed the…
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