Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) sent out a fundraising mailer this week looking to cash in on his recent decision to release 41,000 hours of security footage from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol exclusively to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
The mailer landed in inboxes with the subject line “Re: Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 footage” and began with a news headline, apparently from the New York Post, that read, “Kevin McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson access to Jan. 6 riot surveillance tapes.”
The fundraising effort comes amid a storm of criticism regarding McCarthy’s decision to give access to the tapes, which had been closely guarded to protect the safety of Capitol police officers, exclusively to Carlson. Many in the media have called on the House to release the tapes to outlets other than Fox News as well, while other critics have deemed their release a security threat.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote McCarthy a “dear colleague” letter on Tuesday and accused the Republican leader of endangering law enforcement by giving Carlson the footage.
“I write with respect to public reports that extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have provided tens of thousands of hours of sensitive Capitol security footage to a FOX News personality who regularly peddles in conspiracy theories and Pro-Putin rhetoric,” Jeffries began, referring to Carlson.
“The apparent transfer of video footage represents an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police, who valiantly defended our democracy with their lives at risk on that fateful day,” he concluded before detailing security protocols used by the House Jan. 6 committee to view the tapes.
Carlson has been a leading figure on the hard right promoting the idea that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was an inside job meant to act as a pretext to weaponize federal law enforcement against Trump supporters. Critics claim that such conspiracy theories have led to an increase in threats and targeting of law enforcement officials.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Mediaite