January 6 Panel Head Issues Warning After Kevin McCarthy Gives Tucker Carlson Access to Capitol Riot Tape

The head of the now-abolished January 6 panel, Rep. Bennie Thompson, warned of the "potential security risks" of the Capitol security video released to the hands of Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

According to Axios, Carlson earned access to 41,000 hours of Capitol security footage from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The video showed the day a mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters breached the U.S. Capitol, Daily Wire reported.

A Fox News spokesperson told the Daily Wire that excerpts of the footage will start to air in the coming weeks. In a statement, Thompson said the Republican House Speaker "owes American people an explanation" on why he handed over the Capitol riot footage and should address the security risks attached to the action.

McCarthy has yet to speak about the matter but mentioned earlier that he intends to release the footage due to "politicization" fostered by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the January 6 panel.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Handing Tapes to Tucker Carlson

Kevin McCarthy released the footage amid growing pressures from the right to relitigate the work of the January 6 panel and their investigation on the Capitol riot.

Tucker Carlson was once reported to promote January 6 conspiracy theories, falsely claiming that liberal "deep state" partisans within the Federal Bureau of Investigation created the insurrection to undermine Donald Trump.

The Fox News host has also interviewed some of the rioters the Justice Department charged. Axios first reported that McCarthy gave Carlson access to a trove of the January 6 riot tape. Carlson told the media outlet there was never "any legitimate reason for this footage to remain secret."

Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight," and "Tucker Carlson Today," and "Tucker Carlson Originals" streaming on Fox Nation reportedly have a massive trove of raw material.

A source familiar with the matter told CNN that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was not consulted on the release of the security footage. A communication between the show and a McCarthy representative showed that the process of handing over the footage started in February.

January 6 Panel Capitol Riot

The final report of the January 6 panel released in the last days of 2022 said "one man" was ultimately responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The panel also recommended criminal charges against Donald Trump for his role in the attack after months of public hearings.

The report's main takeaway was that Trump is the "central cause" of the January 6 Capitol riot, adding that the events would not have happened without the former president, Al Jazeera reported.

Trump earlier declared premature victory and started claiming voter fraud allegations. He then pressed on state election officials, the Department of Justice, and Vice President Mike Pence to reverse the results. The panel's report also found that Trump's plan to join supporters at the Capitol riot was "serious."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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