U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has defended giving Fox News host Tucker Carlson hours of Jan. 6 footage after earning criticisms for his decision.

When asked about his decision to share the video with Carlson, and said in a newspaper interview, "I promised," as reported by BBC News.

The House Speaker went on to say that he planned to make the footage more widely available in the future, with democrats arguing that the Jan. 6 footage release could expose some security details and endanger Capitol Police officers.

Access to the video has been restricted ever since the Democrats led a probe into the insurrection.

McCarthy said that the Jan. 6 footage belong to the American public.

Meanwhile, Carlson suggested that he would be airing the footage on his Fox News program next week.

The Fox News host and his team had been reviewing the Jan. 6 footage for about a week.

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Kevin McCarthy on Carlson Tucker Jan. 6 Footage

A source close to the House Speaker told CNN that the House Speaker has been "wary of having the House GOP" looking like it is investigating or retaliating against Jan. 6 attack.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday blasted McCarthy in a letter to Senate, noting that the speaker "is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex."

Schumer added that the disclosure could have "grave security risks" imposed upon members of Congress and workers on Capitol Hill.

The Senate majority leader went on to say that McCarthy's move was it was simply "about pandering to MAGA election deniers."

Carlson has promoted Jan. 6 conspiracy theories, with most of his airtime dedicated to the false claim that "deep state" partisans were involved in the insurrection to "undermine" former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Fox News host called for an investigation into the "real culprits" in his show last month, insisting that "they're not the January 6 protesters."

Carlson claimed that there was a notable "clandestine role of federal agencies" that urged for the invasion of the Capitol building.

Jan. 6 Footage Released

Democrat New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries noted in CBS News that the handing of footage to another entity shows "an egregious security breach" to Capitol Hill workers.

Meanwhile, California Rep. Pete Aguilar noted that it is not "at all surprising" for McCarthy to put the Capitol security and its people in danger to "further a political agenda."

Congressional Integrity Project spokesperson, Hannah Muldavin, said in a statement that handing Fox the footage shows that Republicans are "more interested in pulling partisan stunts" than in conducting legitimate investigations.

House Democrats planned an internal caucus meeting on Wednesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson will brief its members about the possible effects of the Jan. 6 footage release.

Thompson was a former chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, which was responsible for the investigations on the events that led to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

Capitol Police said in a statement that their force had no choice but to turn over the materials.

The statement noted that when Congress asks for things like that, they are required to provide the materials.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Speaker McCarthy hands over Capitol riot footage to Fox News - from CBS News