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Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, said Tuesday that it was a mistake for Fox News’ Tucker Carlson to air previously unreleased footage of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and depict it as a peaceful protest.
“It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that is completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks,” McConnell told reporters.
He held up a copy of a letter written by Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, who slammed Carlson for showing an “offensive and misleading” depiction of what happened on Jan. 6.
McConnell said he wants to “associate myself entirely” with Manger’s letter.
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Carlson was given access to over 40,000 hours of internal security footage from Jan. 6 by new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He said on his show Monday night that the attack was neither an “insurrection” nor was it “deadly,” showing footage of Trump supporters walking through hallways. He called it “peaceful chaos.”
Five people died during or shortly after the attack.
The View From The Senate GOP Caucus
Other Republicans in the Senate denounced Carlson’s depiction Tuesday.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the Fox News host’s remarks “bullshit.”
“It was not some rowdy peaceful protest of Boy Scouts,” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told reporters, calling Carlson’s depiction a lie.
And Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Caroline said he’s “not interested in whitewashing Jan. 6,″ NBC News reported.