Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer ripped into House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday for releasing all video footage from the 2021 Capitol attack to Tucker Carlson of Fox News, accusing the California Republican of jeopardizing the safety of lawmakers.
“The speaker is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11,” Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, said in a letter to his Democratic colleagues. “The footage Speaker McCarthy is making available to Fox News is a treasure trove of closely held information about how the Capitol complex is protected, and its public release would compromise the safety of the Legislative Branch and allow those who want to commit another attack to learn how Congress is safeguarded.”
He said the release of such footage on the airwaves would endanger members and make the job of Capitol Police more difficult by revealing security camera locations across the complex and exposing continuity of government plans that were executed that day.
Mr. McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Schumer’s sharp criticism came after it was revealed this week that Mr. McCarthy made available all of the security tapes from the Jan. 6, 2021, event to Mr. Carlson as part of a transparency promise made to Republican holdouts who opposed his speakership.
Mr. Schumer said Mr. McCarthy’s choice of Mr. Carlson “laid bare that this sham is simply about pandering to MAGA election deniers, not the truth.”
“The speaker — nor any elected official — does not have the right to jeopardize the safety of senators nor Senate and Capitol staff for their own political purposes,” he wrote. “Period. Full stop.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.