Even many of those who’ve come to expect the worst from congressional Republicans were taken aback by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s new plan for Jan. 6 security footage. Axios was first to report that the Republican leader had decided to provide Fox News’ Tucker Carlson with exclusive access to thousands of hours of sensitive recordings, and viewers would begin seeing “excerpts” in “the coming weeks.”
Would McCarthy really do that? Would the GOP leader deliberately hand over confidential information to a controversial media partner as a part of an apparent political ploy?
Many of the details came into sharper focus yesterday, and it now appears that is precisely what’s happening. NBC News confirmed yesterday:
Conservative Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Monday that he and his team have gained access to about 44,000 hours of security camera video taken during the Jan. 6 insurrection. “So there are about 44,000 hours, and we have, you may have read, been granted access to that,” Carlson said on his prime-time show. “We believe that access is unfettered. We believe we have secured the right to see whatever we want to see.”
With the host’s confirmation, there is no longer any doubt about the accuracy of the original reporting. What’s more, we now know quite a bit about the larger context.
For example, Politico reported that McCarthy apparently chose not to coordinate with Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger and House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland, both of whom were surprised to learn of the speaker’s move on Monday, along with the rest of the public.
“Capitol Police have been extremely reluctant to share large swaths of their security footage, citing potential risks to lawmakers, aides and officers tasked with protecting the building,” the Politico report added, referring to warnings that the House speaker has apparently shrugged off.
There are, broadly speaking, two areas of concern regarding the consequences of a plan such as this…
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