McCarthy slammed for giving Tucker Carlson access to January 6 footage

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is being blasted this week over his decision to allow controversial Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to over 40,000 hours of video footage from the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.

First reported by Axios on Sunday, McCarthy apparently allowed Fox News employees into the Capitol as early as last week to begin sifting through the footage of the insurrection that took place in an attempt to block Congress from certifying the 2020 election results in January 2021. McCarthy’s decision to allow access to the footage, which until now has been kept secret by Congress, has come under fire by Democrats and some Republicans.

“Unfortunately, the apparent disclosure of sensitive video material is yet another example of the grave threat to the security of the American people represented by the extreme MAGA Republican majority,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “It’s hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly.”

Republican and former member of the House Committee to Investigate January 6, Adam Kinzinger, appeared on CNN on Monday, blasting McCarthy’s move to hand over the footage to Carlson, who has repeatedly repeated Donald Trump’s stolen election lies on the air. Kinzinger expressed concern that the producers at Fox News could manipulate the footage and spur more unrest ahead of the 2024 election.

Carlson has previously called for the footage to be made public, claiming there is “no reason” for the government to keep it from the American people.