Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer condemned Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for showing security footage from Jan. 6 on his show Monday night. Carlson shared footage that was previously unseen Monday night, disputing claims made by many about Jan. 6. It included footage of the Capitol police officer who some claim was killed by the protestors — after he was allegedly attacked. The officer was performing his duties without a struggle it appeared in the footage. Carlson also showed a video of Ray Epps, which Carlson said proves Epps lied to the Jan. 6 Committee.
Schumer claimed it was one of the “most shameful hours” we’ve seen on cable TV.
“With contempt for the facts, disregard of the risks and knowing full well he was lying — lying to his audience, Fox News host Tucker Carlson ran a lengthy segment last night arguing the Jan. 6 Capitol attack was not a violent insurrection,” Schumer said.
Schumer claimed that Carlson said it was a “peaceful sight-seeing tour.”
“I, so many others who were here in the Capitol, and millions of millions of Americans are just furious with Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy today,” Schumer said.
“To say Jan. 6 was not violent is a lie. A lie pure and simple. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prime-time cable news anchor manipulate his viewers the way Mr. Carlson did last night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anchor treat the American people, and American democracy, with such disdain.”
Schumer called for Fox News to censor Carlson’s follow-up segment on Jan. 6. He also said that McCarthy is as culpable as Tucker.
“Speaker McCarthy has played a treacherous, a treacherous game by catering to the hard right,” Schumer said. “He’s enabled the big lie and further eroded away at our precious democracy. When people don’t believe elections are on the level, that’s the beginning of the end of this bold experiment in democracy that has gone on for more than 200 years.”
Schumer said everyone must call out Carlson’s conduct for being a “dangerous, unforgivable attempt to destabilize our democracy and rewrite the history of the worst attack on our Constitution since the Civil War.”
“It’s an insult to every police officer who was on the scene that terrible, fearful day,” Schumer said. “It’s an insult to the memory of every single person who perished in connection to the attack, especially to the memory of Brian Sicknick. Nonviolent? Ask the Sicknick family. It makes me sick just thinking about what his family must be going through this morning. And it’s an insult to everyone who cares about our democracy.”
