As prominent critics of former President Donald Trump continue to portray the Capitol Hill protest of Jan. 6, 2021, as evidence of an insurrection that he helped foment, a growing number of Americans say the available footage from that day paint a much different picture.
Earlier this year, then-Fox News Channel personality Tucker Carlson laid out his case in response to footage he received directly from then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and now another prominent Republican lawmaker is preparing the public for even more video evidence.
“I can break some news with you,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) during a recent interview. “You know, the way that the Jan. 6 tapers will be released will be through a website where any member of the public can go and observe the videos that are being released.”
Although he did not elaborate on exactly how much will initially be available, he indicated that footage from congressional security cameras and other sources will begin surfacing in the very near future.
“My expectation is they’re going to be released in tranches and that the first tranche of the tapes to be released will be in, you know, days, not weeks,” the Florida Republican said.
BREAKING: The American public can expect access to the January 6 footage in a matter of days.@RepMattGaetz @mattgaetz pic.twitter.com/xNcC7iiv9p
— Andrew Wilkow (@WilkowMajority) November 16, 2023
Although Gaetz was instrumental in pushing for McCarthy’s ouster more than a month ago, the two men found common ground in the call for Jan. 6 footage to be made public. In addition to providing more than 40,000 hours of video footage to Carlson, the former speaker also handed over exclusive evidence to the Epoch Times.
Of course, while McCarthy indicated that he would “slowly roll out” additional footage, much of the evidence remained under wraps as of the time he was voted out as speaker. Now, his replacement is on the receiving end of GOP pressure to make the footage public.
Earlier this month, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) addressed reports that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was prepared to release the relevant security footage from the U.S. Capitol building.
“I can confirm that this is true and something is in the works,” she asserted. “We are going to be releasing more and making it more available to the public.”
