Kevin McCarthy Grants Tucker Carlson Exclusive Access to Capitol Police Security Videos from January 6th Attack

In a move that has sparked controversy, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has granted Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of Capitol Police security videos from the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

McCarthy vowed Tuesday to eventually make the footage available to the public, but made it clear that Carlson would have first dibs. Five people died in the attack and its aftermath after then-President Donald Trump encouraged a mob of supporters to “fight like hell” as Congress was tallying the election results from the states.

Responding to criticism from Democrats, McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday that none of the footage would be released to Carlson’s team or be broadcasted publicly before it is screened by Capitol police to make sure it doesn’t compromise the security of the Capitol building.

“We work with the Capitol Police as well, so we’ll make sure security is taken care of,” McCarthy said. “It’s many more hours of tape than we were ever told. See exactly what transpired that day.”

McCarthy is also supportive of giving access to some of the nearly 1,000 defendants being prosecuted for their roles in the siege. Carlson has spent months airing conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of the 2020 elections and the Capitol attack itself.

The footage is expected to be released to the public in the coming weeks.