Future of Carlson’s Jan. 6 footage unclear
Following Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News, there is a growing investigation into the fate of the Jan. 6 footage provided to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Tucker Carlson ousted from Fox News
Fox News announced the departure of prime time host Tucker Carlson, who had become a prominent figure in GOP politics through his show “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Carlson had become known for his controversial opinions and theories on a range of topics, including Russia and the January 6 uprising. The network offered no explanation for the sudden decision, simply stating that they and Carlson “agreed to go their separate ways,” and his show’s final episode aired Friday.
Dominion Voting Trial
Carlson’s departure announcement comes amid legal troubles for Fox News, which recently settled a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for more than $787 million over false claims aired on the network after the 2020 presidential election. Carlson was set to be called as a witness in the case, which has cast a shadow over the network.
However, Fox’s legal troubles are far from over. Fox continues to be sued by other lawsuits such as Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit against the network. The voting machine company is suing for $2.7 billion, far more than Dominion’s lawsuit. Fox recently agreed to turn over thousands of documents to the company as the lawsuit continues.
What about the January 6 tapes?
Carlson’s departure raises questions about the status of the Jan. 6 footage he owns. Earlier this year, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave Fox and Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of internal security tapes of the January 6 insurrection, which Carlson used to make false claims that the riot was “mostly peaceful chaos” and that “the footage does not show an ongoing insurrection or riot”.
Republican leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell criticized Fox News for promoting “offensive and misleading conclusions” about the January 6 Capitol Riot in a manner that is “completely at odds” with the views of United States Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger. Manger published a letter to the platform criticizing Carlson for only selecting certain portions of footage to air that follow his own narrative and neglecting to include important context for the attack.
Now that Carlson has been ousted from Fox, what will happen to the January 6 tapes? Will Fox continue to have exclusive access, or are the tapes accompanying Carlson on his next projects?
