On January 6, 2021, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson access to more than 40,000 hours of previously unreleased material from the US Capitol. McCarthy is under increasing criticism because he granted Carlson access to the film earlier this year, which led to the Jan. 6 tapes.
After reviewing all of the footage to address any potential security issues, McCarthy agreed to let the public and media access to the tapes.
“This is the difficulty. Democrats said there were only 14,000 hours of cassettes, but when we took the majority, the number was 42,000, taking years for me to complete. Yes, I agree that the public should be made aware of what transpired. We’ve collaborated with Capitol Police to alert us to any problematic sections. And all of that takes time. However, we want to ensure that everyone has the chance to visit and see what they desire, according to McCarthy. “So we’ve developed the procedure to start making that happen.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a Republican, has now stepped up the pressure and threatened to force McCarthy to release the unedited tapes from the Capitol uprising.
Before a crowd outside the DC Central Detention Facility, Gaetz expressed regret for the inmates “having to endure this two-tiered justice system.”
He attacked McCarthy before asserting that it is “critically important” for the full, undeleted security tapes to be made available to the public.
“That, in my opinion, is dishonest, especially to those who have suffered the most as a result of this two-tiered judicial system. And I just wanted to come down here to express my gratitude to everyone who is keeping watch, as well as my direct commitment to you that, if Kevin McCarthy wants to keep his job, I will seek to have the J6 tapes made public, Gaetz stated.
Gaetz has been pushing for the tapes’ release since January, claiming they contain “exculpatory evidence” that should be taken into account in appeals of the verdicts and penalties.
Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican and guest on the podcast “The Benny Show,” sought the release of the video earlier this month.
By the way, I’m one of those promoting the release of all the J6 video, Higgins stated. We have 60,000 hours of film from the days of January 4, 5, and 6. I want the American public to have access to all of it so that we may crowdsource the investigation.
Several major media outlets are now putting McCarthy under further pressure to get access to the video, months after McCarthy made his pledge.
The Justice Department and the FBI have been sued by nine major media outlets for denying them access to the video footage of the uprising on January 6.