GOP senator says McCarthy should not have released Jan. 6 tapes to only Tucker Carlson

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Sunday that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) should not have released the thousands of hours of unaired footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol exclusively to Fox News’s Tucker Carlson. 

“What I do regret probably as much as anything about the release of 41,000 hours is that it was released to one person in prime time who is, you know, rather sensational in his approach and rather than just releasing it to everybody,” Cramer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

“I think transparency absolutely is the best way to go, I think Kevin McCarthy was right to do it,” Cramer said of the release. “I just wish he had released it to everybody at the same time.”

He also added of some of the news media that “there’s way too much entertainment out there.”

McCarthy controversially gave access to the Jan. 6 video footage to only Carlson, which was then aired on his prime-time show on Fox News. The move prompted outrage from lawmakers over security concerns about the Capitol interior revealed in the videos, and spurred news outlets to protest the exclusive distribution of the material.

Cramer on Sunday said he’s frustrated that Jan. 6 is still at the forefront of lawmaker talks. 

“What frustrates me as much as anything … is that we’re talking about it again. Here we have the Jan. 6 commission wrap up its work, mostly people not caring or paying attention. It was very partisan, to say the least, and here we were moving forward,” the senator said.

“We should be talking about the southern border … about China and the challenge it possesses and talking about inflation and a budget that drives up deficits forever. Those are winning arguments for Republicans, not relitigating Jan. 6,” Cramer said.