When Democrats were in control of Congress, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) spent months calling for the unqualified release of thousands of hours of Jan. 6 security camera footage.
“The DOJ should just release the over 14,000 hours of surveillance video that the tax payers already payed [sic] for instead of creating a controlled view of Jan 6 that cost $6.1 million taxpayer dollars,” Greene tweeted in July 2021, a few months after the attack. “Then everyone can see what happened. What is there to hide?”
“If we really want to know the truth about Jan. 6, it’s real easy. All we have to do is release the video footage, and everyone can see for themselves what exactly happened,” the congresswoman said on the House floor last June.
But now that Republicans have given Fox News star Tucker Carlson exclusive access to the tapes, Greene has changed her tune from her old mantra of “release the tapes” ― seen here, here, here and here ― to something else.
Greene was reportedly involved in House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) decision to allow Carlson exclusive access to the footage, and she now says it would be “foolish” to release certain parts publicly.
“We can’t give away our national security,” Greene told CNN. “Everyone in Congress agrees. And I think the American people agree. We don’t want Russia or China or any of these other countries being able to study all the entries and exits of our Capitol. That’s foolish.”
That’s the same argument congressional Democrats have made about McCarthy handing the tapes to Carlson. Greene evidently trusts that the often inflammatory host will responsibly handle the videos.
Greene’s shift is even more notable given the large group of news outlets that recently called for access to the footage, expressing concern that “an ideologically-based narrative of an already polarizing event will take hold in the public consciousness.” CNN did note that the congresswoman said McCarthy’s office is working, in the report’s words, to release the footage “more widely, beyond Fox News.” But Greene didn’t explain further, and McCarthy’s office didn’t return HuffPost’s request for comment. | 