Recently elected House Speaker Mike Johnson received praise from one of his most powerful House colleagues for releasing footage from the infamous January 6 events at the Capitol that some claim proves the so-called insurrection never happened.
House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-OH) defended Johnson (R-LA) for his decision to release around 95% of the 44,000 hours of taped security footage from that day.
Challenged on NBC’s Meet the Press about whether releasing such sensitive footage could be a security risk, Turner replied, “It’s important for Americans to know the truth. This has been fraught with an unbelievable amount of misinformation and untruths. And I think this: When you see the footage yourself, it’s going to give you an understanding of what was there and what occurred that day. Because we’re currently only depending upon really partisan descriptions of what happened. Now the American people can see.”
When Turner was asked about Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) claim that Capitol Police were involved in framing the protesters as insurrectionists, Turner demurred.
“You’ll have to talk to Marjorie Taylor Greene about that,” he said. “But what I will say is, I think it’s important that the Speaker has taken this step because now people can see the truth.”
In February, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson received exclusive access to most of the security footage from Johnson’s predecessor as speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). He aired segments of the footage on his Fox News show, starting a firestorm of accusations by Democrats and even earning the disapproval of some Republicans.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that by providing the footage to Carlson, McCarthy “enabled the big lie and has further eroded away … our precious democracy. When people don’t believe elections are on the level, that’s the beginning of the end of this bold experiment in democracy that has gone on for more than 200 years,” as CNBC reported.
“It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), per CNBC.
Less than two months later, Fox News fired Carlson, and in October, McCarthy lost his speakership in a successful motion to have him removed.
Currently, the footage is open to news outlets, non-profit organizations, and defendants in January 6 court cases fitting specific criteria to view by appointment within designated rooms in the Capitol Complex with the Capitol Police. Yet Johnson has been criticized by many on the left for releasing the footage.
“Speaker Johnson’s release of the January 6th tapes is a serious security concern and shows that his allegiance, like Kevin McCarthy’s before him, is to Donald Trump and the ultra-right-wing faction of the House,” said Hannah Muldavin, a senior advisor at Congressional Integrity Project and former spokesperson for the January 6 select committee, according to Roll Call.
“Not only did Johnson vote against certifying the 2020 election, but he was a leader of the legal campaign to overturn it, and continues to be a danger to our democracy today. The January 6th Select Committee worked with U.S. Capitol Police to ensure no sensitive material was released to the public — Johnson releasing the tapes does the exact opposite.”
Still, Johnson explained the release of the footage as necessary to allow the American people the ability to form their own opinions about the Capitol protests.
“Truth and transparency are critical. Today, we will begin immediately posting video on a public website and move as quickly as possible to add to the website nearly all of the footage, more than 40,000 hours,” Johnson said when announcing the release. “In the meantime, a public viewing room will ensure that every citizen can view every minute of the videos uncensored.”
House Administration Committee member Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) echoed that sentiment.
“The goal of our investigation has been to provide the American people with transparency on what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and this includes all official video from that day,” Loudermilk previously said in a statement. “We will continue loading video footage as we conduct our investigation and continue to review footage. As I’ve said all along — the American people deserve transparency, accountability, and real answers supported by facts instead [of] a predetermined political narrative.”
