Tucker Carlson in the Spotlight for January 6 Footage, Dominion Lawsuit

Tucker Carlson aired previously unseen footage from the January 6 Capitol riot, arguing the footage proves Jan. 6 was not an insurrection.

The Details: This week, Fox News host Tucker Carlson (Right Bias) aired additional security footage from inside the Capitol during the January 6, 2021 riot that depicted a far more peaceful event than footage shown during the January 6 Committee hearings. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave Carlson the footage. In one clip, Jacob Chansley, nicknamed the "QAnon Shaman," is seen walking alongside Capitol police through the halls of the Capitol, where Chansley was pictured standing in his horned fur hat. In 2021, Chansley pleaded guilty to unlawfully obstructing an official proceeding and was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Chansley's lawyer accused the DOJ of withholding the footage "because it ran contrary to their rote narrative."

The Response: Carlson's display of the footage was deemed by some on the right to be vindication that the January 6 riot was more peaceful than media and Democrats portrayed it. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said "it's important to show the the Jan. 6 committee may be selectively edited." Others have noted that Carlson's footage was selectively edited as well. Some Republicans, as well as many Democrats, criticized Carlson. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the footage was a "false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said it a 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." Carlson responded to the backlash by calling some of his critics "sociopaths," stating, "the commitment to lying in Washington is far deeper and more bipartisan even than we realize."

How the Media Covered It: Coverage from right-rated outlets was split between the new information brought to light by the footage and the divisions it highlighted between Republican politicians and conservative media. Outlets on the left covered the new footage less, focusing more on Republican infighting in response to the footage. On the left, the larger Carlson story this week was new revelations from a court filing in the defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems. The filing reveals private messages in which Carlson stated he "can’t wait" until the network does not talk about Trump, whom Carlson said he hates "passionately."

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Snippets from the Left

Tucker Carlson’s spin on January 6 is a lie – I should know. I was there
CNN (opinion)

"I didn’t need to read the reports of his texts to know that Carlson’s spin about January 6 is fabricated. I was there. I saw it. I lived it. I fought alongside my brother and sister officers to defend the Capitol. We have the scars and injuries to prove it."

The Tucker Carlson Schtick Melts Away
Politico (opinion)

"It has been self-evident for a long time to almost every astute observer of Tucker Carlson — his friends, his acquaintances in the journalism profession, even some viewers of his nightly Fox News Channel program — that he doesn’t believe half of the things he says on his show.'"

Snippets from the Center 

Republicans No Longer Fear Tucker Carlson
Newsweek

"With signs the GOP is now determined to move on from Trump heading into 2024, several prominent Republican lawmakers have shown they will not make the same mistake as Cruz, and have openly criticized Carlson for his attempts to paint the January 6 attack as 'mostly peaceful chaos.'"

Fox News' Tucker Carlson is not credible, White House says after Jan. 6 coverage
Reuters

"In Monday's coverage, Carlson argued that only a small number of those who illegally entered the Capitol as Congress was attempting to formally certify President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral win were 'hooligans,' and said the overwhelming majority were not."

Snippets from the Right 

We knew there was a reason leaders hid the January 6 tapes
Tucker Carlson (opinion)

"You sometimes hear people say that the whole partisan system is an illusion and that underneath the manufactured debates, the leaders on both sides are, in fact, secretly united in a common love of money and power and the deception required to get them. And honestly, we can never really bring ourselves to believe that. It's just too dark. But now we do believe it because we have seen it."

An egregious denial of due process for Jan. 6 protesters
New York Post (opinion)

"Contrary to what apologists have been saying since Carlson began airing the footage, all this material has not previously been made available to the J6 defendants, some of whom have been jailed without trial for two years, in violation of their constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial."

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