News/Commentary

‘Absolutely ridiculous!’ Republicans release convoluted instructions on how to access J6 footage

September 5, 2023 | | Print Article

After months at the helm, the House GOP at last announced instructions on how to view security footage from Jan. 6, 2021, with a “ridiculous” catch.

For months, the American people watched as the sham Jan. 6 Committee carefully edited cherry-picked clips to support the notion that the breach of the U.S. Capitol had been altogether violent and a “threat to democracy.” With control of the House won back during the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans promised to aid in dispelling that narrative by releasing the more than 40,000 hours of unedited footage.

On Friday, the GOP followed through, but hardly in a fashion the public had expected as the Committee on House Administration set forth the rules for accessing the footage beginning at some point in September. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) shared those rules Saturday without comment.

It was set forth that access would only be granted to “representatives of U.S. news outlets…Qualifying Non-Profit Organizations…defendants charged with crimes related to January 6, 2021 and their counsel” as well as anyone physically harmed that day and their counsel.

In addition to the restrictions on who could view the footage, access was time-constricted and copies of materials viewed were only permitted to be taken from the terminals after receiving clearance from the committee. Appointments, even for defendants, were limited to three hours only once per week with exceptions “considered and awarded at the discretion of CHA based on space and time constraints.”

Limitations on the press also set forth that only 20 clips per month would be granted with no more than 10 in a single week, plus a time limitation of under 90 minutes total.

As for the general public, should they wish to see the footage, the committee laid out that a “public reading room” would be available containing only those clips that had previously been released. Access to that “public reading room” required the submission of an email request to the committee.

Despite all of the catches, Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R), who himself had been targeted by the Jan. 6 committee, lauded the announcement in a statement.

“House Republicans are continuing to deliver on our promise to bring transparency and accountability to the People’s House by increasing access to security footage of the U.S. Capitol from January 5th and 6th, 2021,” the congressman said. “This announcement stands in stark contrast to the previous Democrat leadership, who blocked access to the footage and only showed carefully edited clips to the public.”

As previously reported, Loudermilk had been the subject of a debunked conspiracy theory that he had provided access for reconnaissance of the Capitol on Jan. 5 when he had merely been giving a tour to a family. It just so happened, that pictures that showed “children holding bags from the House gift shop, which was open to visitors, and taking pictures of the Rayburn train” had been used to exonerate the lawmaker of the false narrative.

Earlier this year, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson had garnered exclusive access to footage from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a privilege the commentator utilized to help smackdown many of the narratives favored by corporate media and “permanent Washington.”

Carlson recently picked up that effort again on his social media program when he sat down with former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund after Fox News had determined not to air their original interview.

“What he has to say is shocking,” the media personality had teased. “We recommend you watch.”

Unlike with the host’s efforts to expose the truth behind the story of Jan. 6, the public was far from enamored with the House GOP’s control of access to what arguably should have been available from the onset.

“This is absolutely ridiculous!” wrote one user on X. “The American People own that footage and it is high time that you all remember that.”

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Kevin Haggerty
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