Tag: footage

Video footage emerges of Ukrainian drone attack on Kremlin

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Moscow: Purported footage of a Ukrainian drone strike targeting the Kremlin on Tuesday night has surfaced on a local Telegram channel, media reports said.
The video shows plumes of white smoke rising into the night sky over the Grand Kremlin Palace, a 19th century building serving as the official working residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, RT reported.
No sound can be heard in the video but witnesses claimed on Telegram that they heard at least one loud blast resembling “thunder rumbling”.

People on the Kremlin embankment also reportedly saw sparks rising into the sky over the Kremlin wall. An unverified video circulating on social media also shows a fire on the roof of the Senate Palace, the President’s second working residence in the Kremlin. Flames can be seen rising near the top of the roof.
Another unverified video published on Telegram purported to show the moment one of the drones struck the Senate Palace. The footage shows the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) approaching the building at a low altitude, before blowing up right over its dome. The blast appeared not to have dealt any significant damage to the building, as even the flagstaff with the presidential banner remained in place after the attack, RT reported.
Ukraine denies involvement with drone attack. The government in Kyiv has reacted to the Kremlin accusing Ukraine of launching an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin’s life with two drones in the early hours of Wednesday morning. An attack on the Kremlin would “change nothing… pic.twitter.com/gLj4CnV2k0
— Dénes Törteli 🇪🇺🇭🇺🇺🇦 (@DenesTorteli) May 3, 2023
Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian presidential office reported the attack, calling it a “planned terrorist act” targeting Putin’s residence. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that the President was elsewhere at the time and his schedule is unaffected.
Russia reserves the right to retaliate “anywhere and anytime it deems necessary” in response to the drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence, the Kremlin has said, RT reported.
Officials said two Ukrainian drones attempted to strike the Kremlin early on Wednesday morning, but the raid was thwarted.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 3, 2023
Italian tourism video mocked for using footage of Slovenia

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Italy’s tourism ministry has faced ridicule after an official video to attract tourists to Italy used footage of people in Slovenia drinking Slovenian wine.
The video, part of a €9m ($9.91m) campaign produced by the Armando Testa communications group, was widely mocked by critics and on social media even before it emerged that part of it had been shot abroad.
Titled “Open to Meraviglia” (Open to Wonder), the video features a computerised “influencer” version of Venus, a symbol of Italian art, as depicted by Sandro Botticelli in his renaissance masterpiece The Birth of Venus.
The very modern “Venus” dons a mini-skirt and is shown eating pizza and presenting some of Italy’s main tourist attractions such as the Coliseum in Rome or Florence’s cathedral.
The art historian Tomaso Montanari called the advertising campaign “grotesque”, and an “obscene” waste of money, while the video was lampooned by users of Italian social media platforms.
The most controversial footage shows a group of young people smiling on a sunlit patio drinking wine in what is presented as a typical Italian scene. However, eagle-eyed viewers spotted that the patio in question is actually in the Cotar region of Slovenia, close to the Italian border, and the bottle on the table has a Cotar wine label.
The Armando Testa communications group was not immediately available to comment.
The Italian tourism minister, Daniela Santanche, a member of prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, called critics of the video “snobs” and said the depiction of Venus as an influencer was aimed at attracting young people.

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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 25, 2023
Woman hit-drag case: Accused’s identity proved through CCTV footage

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New Delhi: The identity of four accused in the hit-and-run case where a 20-year-old woman was dragged to death while trapped under a car here on new year’s day was established based on CCTV footage, statements of witnesses and other scientific evidence, the Delhi Police said in its charge sheet.
According to the final report, the evidence proved the presence of the four accused — Amit Khanna, Krishan, Manoj Mittal and Mithun — in the car.
The charge sheet cited the statements of six eyewitnesses, including the victim’s friend, the person who informed police about the body, an autorickshaw driver, and a person who was in the car with the four accused but was dropped at Sultanpuri before the incident.

It said the CCTV footage revealed crucial evidence, such as the presence of all the accused at a dhaba before the incident and in Rohini Sector 1 after.
“It has also been revealed by the footage that the accused knew that the victim was entangled… The accused didn’t try to save the life of the woman. After getting back in the car, they intentionally dragged her for a long distance to kill her,” the charge sheet claimed.
It stated that the DNA profile generated from the strands of hairs recovered from the car matched with the profile generated from the blood samples of Khanna, Mittal and Krishan.
Also, the DNA profile generated from the blood spots present on the clothes of the accused matched with that generated from the blood sample of the victim, the charge sheet stated.
DNA profiles generated from the exhibits recovered from the spot along with those lifted from the car, the cloth of the victim and from the clothes of Manoj Mittal, Mithun and Krishan were found similar to the DNA profile generated from the blood on gauze, the charge sheet said.

“A forensic science laboratory team lifted the blood in gauze from the offending car and the spot where the body of the deceased was found. DNA profile thus prepared matched with the DNA profile prepared from the blood in gauze preserved during the post-mortem of the deceased,” the charge sheet said.
The report said that the owner of the vehicle, Ashutosh Bhardwaj, voluntarily permitted his car to be driven by Amit Khanna, who did not have a valid driving licence. Also, Khanna’s blood test revealed the presence of alcohol above the permissible limit, it said.
“During the interrogation, Ashutosh disclosed that when he came to know about the incident and that the person driving the car did not possess a valid driving licence, he, Ankush and other accused planned to plant another person possessing a valid driving licence as the driver of the offending car at the time of the incident,” the charge sheet said.
“Ashutosh helped in the disappearance of the evidence of offence and gave false information to shield the accused,” it said.
Police arrested Deepak Khanna (26), Amit Khanna (25), Krishan (27), Mithun (26), and Manoj Mittal in the case on January 2.
Co-accused Ashutosh Bhardwaj and Ankush, were earlier given bail by the court, while the bail plea of Deepak Khanna was rejected by a sessions court.
Amit Khanna, Krishan, Mithun and Manoj Mittal have been accused of murder, while Amit Khanna and Ashutosh were booked under the Motor Vehicles Act.
It said all the accused were booked for the offences of criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, harbouring offender, common intention and false information with an intent to cause a public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person.
Delhi Police has levelled additional charges against Amit Khanna for the offences of rash driving and causing hurt by an act endangering the life or personal safety of others.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 14, 2023
CCTV footage: Toddler crushed to death by auto in Telangana

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Hyderabad: In a tragic incident, a toddler lost his life in Malkajgiri, Telangana after being crushed by an auto rickshaw. This incident took place when the 18-month-old boy was playing on a road in a locality.
The heartbreaking incident which occurred in RTC Colony at Moula Ali, Malkajgiri was captured on CCTV and has since gone viral on social media.
In the footage, Telangana’s garbage-collecting auto trolley driver can be seen reversing the vehicle over the toddler, who was completely unaware of the danger. The auto driver apparently did not see the child and continued reversing, running over the toddler.
Later, the driver got out of the vehicle, only to find the child lying motionless on the ground.
Though, the toddler was immediately rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after due to severe injuries sustained in the accident.
Following a complaint, the police have registered a case and begun an investigation into the incident. The auto-rickshaw driver has been taken into custody for questioning.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 28, 2023
House GOP ignored Capitol Police requests to review public Jan. 6 footage, lawyer says

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The department is typically loath to appear at odds with House leaders in particular, since it relies on the majority party for its budget and are charged with protecting its members.
Last month Republicans started requesting the same footage that the Jan. 6 select committee had access to. Those requests came first from Tim Monahan — who doubles as a top aide to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and as a staff director for the House Administration Committee — and then from Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), the chair of that panel, which has jurisdiction over Capitol security.
Within days, DiBiase indicated, the Capitol Police installed three terminals in a House office building to grant access to the footage. And DiBiase said he also provided four hard drives he had received from the Democratic-led Jan. 6 panel after it completed its work.
“At no time was I nor anyone else from the Capitol Police informed that anyone other than personnel from [the House Administration Committee] would be reviewing the camera footage,” DiBiase indicated.
Later last month, media reports indicated that McCarthy had granted access to the footage to Carlson’s producers. DiBiase said he later learned that “personnel from the Tucker Carlson Show were allowed to view whatever footage they wanted while supervised by staff from [the House Administration Committee] but that no footage had been physically turned over to the show.”
A week later, Monahan requested a list of Capitol Police cameras that were deemed “sensitive” because they include details about evacuation routes or locations such as intelligence committee facilities.
“We worked with the Capitol Police ahead of time to identify any security-sensitive footage and made sure it wasn’t released,” said Mark Bednar, a spokesperson for McCarthy. “In subsequent conversations, the USCP General Counsel confirmed that the department concluded there are no security concerns with what was released.”
A GOP committee aide, asked about the statements in the affidavit, noted that the Republicans asked the Capitol Police for a list of security sensitive cameras “to ensure anything on the list requested by Tucker was approved by USCP, which we did.”

The aide added that Capitol Police “told us they had no concern with what was released,” but didn’t immediately respond to follow up questions about if that comment came before or after the footage aired on Fox, and if it applied to both the clip Capitol Police was able to review and those that they say they weren’t.
DiBiase emphasized that in “numerous conversations” over “several weeks,” he informed Monahan that the Capitol Police wanted “to review every footage clip, whether it was on the Sensitive List or not, if it was going to be made public.” The Jan. 6 select committee had gone through that process with the department “in all cases,” DiBiase said, as had federal prosecutors pursuing cases against hundreds of Capitol riot defendants.
“Of the numerous clips shown during the Tucker Carlson show on March 6 and 7, 2023, I was shown only one clip before it aired, and that clip was from the Sensitive List,” he continued. “Since that clip was substantially similar to a clip used in the Impeachment Trial and was publicly available, I approved the use of the clip. The other approximately 40 clips, which were not from the Sensitive List, were never shown to me nor anyone else from the Capitol Police.”
DiBiase left some key details about his interactions with the House Administration Committee unanswered. For example, he didn’t indicate whether anyone on the panel had agreed to his requests for a preview of the footage.
Notably, DiBiase indicated that the House managers of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack, who used about 15 Capitol security camera clips, did not preview them with the department before using them in the February 2021 proceedings. Those clips included “some from the Sensitive List.” The footnote caught the attention of Republicans who pointed to it on Friday, as an example of when Democrats had provided “zero consultation.”
Bednar also pointed to the impeachment trial footage and said House Republicans had taken more steps to protect security sensitive material than impeachment managers did.
Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said in a statement earlier this month that he has little control over the footage once it’s provided to lawmakers.
Manger himself fiercely criticized Carlson and Fox News’ handling of the footage, saying it minimized the violence and chaos of Jan. 6 and portrayed Capitol Police officers’ actions in a “misleading” and “offensive” light.
DiBiase’s statement came in the case of William Pope, a Jan. 6 defendant who is representing himself and has moved to publicly release a trove of Jan. 6 security footage. Several other Jan. 6 defendants have cited Carlson’s access to the trove of footage in their own pending matters and said they intend to seek access. But, DiBiase noted in the affidavit, while Administration staff had said last week that no footage had been shown to any defendant or defense counsel, the Capitol Police had received additional requests to review the footage.
McCarthy’s decision to release the footage sparked weeks of questions for House Republicans. It’s also just the beginning of GOP lawmakers’ work to relitigate the attack, with the Administration Committee currently reviewing the previous Jan. 6 select committee’s work and promising to investigate Capitol security decisions leading up to the day. Meanwhile, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are planning a trip to visit the individuals jailed in connection with Jan. 6.
McCarthy has defended his decision to give access to the footage to Carlson, who has falsely portrayed the attack as nonviolent. The speaker and House Administration Committee members have pledged to release the footage more widely.
“I think putting it out all to the American public, you can see the truth, see exactly what transpired that day and everybody can have the exact same” access, McCarthy recently told reporters. “My intention is to release it to everyone.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 17, 2023
In the mob’s eyeline: A senior Republican’s close brush revealed in new Jan. 6 footage

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The video, taken by a rioter who entered the Capitol moments after the breach and released in a case separate from Pezzola’s, shows the Proud Boy gazing past the police officer at the evacuating senator, though it’s unclear if he recognized Grassley. As the camera pans, Pezzola is shown speaking on his phone before turning away from the scene.
That first wave of the mob — which also included Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman” — would moments later follow Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman up a flight of stairs to come within feet of the Senate chamber in a now-famous confrontation.
The footage is the latest example of how close powerful government figures came to a direct brush with the mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters. Rioters came within 40 feet of then-Vice President Mike Pence during his own evacuation, according to evidence released by the Jan. 6 select committee. And then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, accompanied by his own security detail, came within sight of rioter Joshua Pruitt while waiting for an elevator.
“The security detail and Senator Schumer reversed course and ran away from the elevator, back down the ramp, away from Pruitt,” according to a “statement of facts” agreed to by prosecutors and Pruitt in connection with his plea deal.
Then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris had a different kind of close call on Jan. 6: She had been ensconced at Democratic National Committee headquarters near the Capitol when police discovered pipe bombs had been placed outside the DNC and RNC buildings.
Just moments before the timing of the video, Grassley had been presiding over the Senate — filling in for Pence, who was evacuated from the floor himself just minutes earlier by Secret Service agents. The Iowan was the Senate president pro tem at the time, putting him in the line of presidential succession.
C-SPAN footage showed Grassley being rapidly ushered off the Senate dais at about 2:15 p.m. and out a nearby door.
Grassley told POLITICO that he couldn’t remember many details about the rushed evacuation, noting that he was taken down a back staircase to the first floor of the Capitol — where the footage shows he unknowingly had that close brush with rioters — and then down another staircase to the basement. Grassley’s office declined to comment but did not dispute that the footage appeared to show the 89-year-old senator’s swift exit from the Senate.

“I wasn’t aware of any of it,” Grassley said of his apparent near-encounter. “They just said: ‘We’ve got to get you out of here.’”
The footage also underscores the possibility of more significant revelations about Jan. 6 sitting in the thousands of hours of security camera video that Speaker Kevin McCarthy has indicated he intends to release publicly, after providing early access to Carlson.
And Grassley’s evacuation isn’t the only snapshot laid bare by recently released footage in Jan. 6 criminal cases. Other film shows the moment the Senate parliamentarian’s door was breached, leading to rioters ransacking her office. NBC recently revealed that Sen. Jim Risch’s (R-Idaho) hideaway was among those trashed by rioters.
In addition, court papers connected to a newly filed criminal case indicate that rioters breached the House Appropriations Committee’s third-floor space in the building, before Capitol Police officers with their guns drawn subdued them.
“There, the officers held rioters under supervision while Members of the House of Representatives were evacuated from the House Gallery,” according to the charging documents.
Those new details are in addition to well-known breaches of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office suite, Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-Ore.) hideaway and the Senate chamber itself.
The video of Grassley’s apparent close encounter was released in connection with Chansley’s criminal case, after a request by media outlets for videos the government used in his sentencing. Chansley is one of the most widely recognized members of the Jan. 6 mob due to his appearance during the attack — he wore a horned Viking helmet and face paint, striding shirtless through the Capitol.
He returned to the spotlight after Carlson aired security footage showing Chansley walking alongside police officers calmly, footage the Justice Department said misleadingly cast his hour-long trip through the Capitol as authorized by police.
The footage of Chansley’s entry into the Capitol, just moments after Pezzola set off the breach by smashing the window, appears to have been taken by Jan. 6 defendant Daniel Adams, who closely followed Chansley inside. Adams can be seen on security footage holding up his camera and recording the moment.
Pezzola is currently on trial for seditious conspiracy, along with other Proud Boys leaders.
The video also shows a moment that Chansley himself had highlighted in his own defense: his chastising another member of the mob for attempting to steal items from the Senate refectory. Other recently released footage shows members of the Proud Boys snatching snacks and drinks from the convenience store after they entered the building.
The Justice Department indicated that Carlson’s footage showed only a four-minute window of the hour Chansley spent inside the Capitol. That time also included Chansley breaching police lines outside the complex, a standoff with police outside of the Senate chamber and his decision to leave an ominous note for Pence on the Senate dais.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 16, 2023
Prosecutors say newly aired Chansley footage paints misleading portrait of his Jan. 6 conduct

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“Prior to that time, Chansley had, amongst other acts, breached a police line at 2:09 p.m. with the mob, entered the Capitol less than one minute behind Pezzola during the initial breach of the building, and faced off with members of the U.S. Capitol Police for more than thirty minutes in front of the Senate Chamber doors while elected officials, including the Vice President of the United States, were fleeing from the chamber,” they continued.
The footage aired by Carlson earlier this month showed Chansley walking through Capitol hallways accompanied by police officers, who at some moments appeared to be facilitating his movements — even opening a Senate-wing door for him at one point — and certainly weren’t trying to subdue him. But the clips didn’t indicate what time of day the footage came from or any of the context about the interactions.
Nevertheless, the episode — billed by Carlson as a refutation of the prevailing perception of the events of Jan. 6 — ignited a firestorm among allies of former President Donald Trump, who have long sought to downplay the Jan. 6 riot and the threat it posed to the transfer of power. Separately, Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, came out in favor of freeing Chansley over the weekend. Chansley’s current attorney, William Shipley, has indicated he intends to take a “creative” action to aid his client’s legal fight.
But Carlson omitted footage of Chansley’s entry into the Capitol, which came amid the earliest wave of rioters overrunning police, as well as footage from a lengthy standoff with police outside the Senate, and Chansley’s own trip inside the Senate chamber, where he stood on the Senate dais, recited a prayer and wrote an ominous message to then-Vice President Mike Pence: “It’s only a matter of time. Justice is coming.”
“In sum, Chansley was not some passive, chaperoned observer of events for the roughly hour that he was unlawfully inside the Capitol,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors emphasized that U.S. Capitol Police officers had been overwhelmed at that point in the riot, resorting to triage to minimize the damage of the riot.
“For a period that afternoon, those defending the Capitol were in triage mode — trying to deal with the most violent element of those unlawfully present, holding those portions of the Capitol that had not yet been seized by rioters, and protecting those Members and staffers who were still trapped in the Capitol,” prosecutors wrote.
Chansley’s defenders have noted that he garnered outsize attention for his role in the riot, in part by his outlandish attire — he strode shirtless through the Capitol, wearing a horned helmet and full face paint, while carrying a flagpole with a sharp finial that led the judge in his case to conclude he was carrying a dangerous weapon.

Chansley is not accused of violence and has contended that he had positive interactions with officers inside the Capitol and encouraged other rioters not to loot the building. He became one of the earliest rioters to plead guilty to obstruction after about eight months in pretrial detention — which was ordered by a magistrate judge in Arizona and upheld by D.C.-based U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth. Lamberth sentenced him to 41 months in prison in November 2021.
Chansley is currently incarcerated and slated for release in July.
Chansley’s allies say the footage aired by Carlson might have changed the case against him. In Sunday’s filing, however, the Justice Department contended that it had shipped all but 10 seconds of the footage to Chansley’s attorney by Sept. 24, 2021 — about three weeks after Chansley pleaded guilty but more than a month before his sentencing.
Pezzola’s defense seized on the flap over the Carlson footage to urge the dismissal of the entire case against the Proud Boys, contending that it proved there had been prosecutorial misconduct and that the crowd inside the Capitol was nonviolent.
“Once tethered to facts and reality, defendant Pezzola’s arguments quickly unravel,” the Justice Department wrote.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 13, 2023
Judge denies Jan. 6 defendant’s bid for time to review McCarthy’s Capitol security footage

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Boasberg’s ruling is the latest ripple caused by McCarthy’s decision to widen access to 44,000 hours of Capitol security footage from Jan. 6. The Capitol Police had previously turned over about 14,000 hours of the day’s footage that leaders said encompassed crucial time periods of the riot, as well as the relevant camera angles.
It’s unclear whether the additional footage includes evidence that will influence any of the 950-plus Jan. 6 criminal cases. But several defendants have said they intend to access the materials, which House Republicans have agreed to facilitate. The Justice Department has yet to indicate whether it, too, will attempt to obtain and review the footage.
At Friday’s hearing, prosecutors opposed Carpenter’s request, saying they had pieced together the “overwhelming” amount of her movements using CCTV footage, leaving only “a matter of seconds” unaccounted for. Carpenter already has access to a “massive” trove of CCTV footage, they noted, and defendants have the ability to request specific camera angles they would like to focus on if they believe they need additional material.
Prosecutors also suggested that they remain largely in the dark about what the cache of footage newly unearthed by McCarthy might include.
“We don’t have what the speaker has,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cook, adding, “In any case, there’s always the possibility some information may be out there.”
Prosecutors are required to disclose to defendants any potentially exculpatory evidence they possess — a particularly thorny challenge in Jan. 6 cases as a result of the massive amounts of video evidence captured by Capitol security cameras, policy bodycams, journalists and rioters themselves, who recorded hundreds of hours worth of footage.
But that requirement isn’t limitless, particularly when it comes to evidence that is in the possession of another agency — like the Capitol Police, an arm of Congress — and if courts determine the government has made good-faith efforts to provide as much material as possible to defendants.
Carpenter’s attorneys argued in court Friday that McCarthy’s batch might help fill “gaps” in the footage that would provide context to the actions Carpenter took inside the Capitol. They contended that it might help contextualize some of the actions she took that resulted in the felony charges DOJ lodged, including for obstructing Congress’ proceedings and for participating in a civil disorder. She sought a 60-day delay in her trial, which is set to begin Monday, in order to determine whether any of the new footage might be relevant.

Boasberg agreed that the request was legitimate. Any attorney would want to see a new batch of potentially exculpatory evidence, he said.
“It’s certainly not a frivolous request by any means,” he said.
But Boasberg agreed that the gaps Carpenter’s attorneys described were “minimal” and that the defense lawyers didn’t explain specifically why any additional footage might help Carpenter’s case.
Prosecutors trying the seditious conspiracy case of several leaders of the Proud Boys also recently confronted the issue, when a defense attorney asked the Justice Department whether it would help organize access to the additional footage. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough called it a “serious question” and a “serious issue,” but said it was too soon to say how DOJ would be handling the matter.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 4, 2023
House GOP moving to let Jan. 6 defendants access Capitol security footage

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Loudermilk will be leading the effort given his senior Administration panel post, according to a senior Republican congressional aide who addressed the evolving decision on condition of anonymity. The GOP aide added that the new House majority is working on a system that eventually will allow members of the media and the public to access some Jan. 6 records as well.
The footage access plan, described by three people familiar with the discussions, follows McCarthy’s move to grant exclusive access to the 41,000 hours of internal Capitol film from the day of the riot to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. McCarthy and his allies are also making clear that there will be limits on the extent of material permitted to leave the tightly controlled confines of the Capitol, where Carlson’s team has been reviewing the footage for days.
“What gets released is obviously going to be scrutinized to make sure you’re not exposing any sensitive information that hasn’t already been exposed,” said Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).
McCarthy told reporters Tuesday that he ultimately envisions releasing nearly all of the Jan. 6 surveillance footage publicly, with exceptions for sensitive security information.
“I think putting it out all to the American public, you can see the truth, see exactly what transpired that day and everybody can have the exact same” access, McCarthy said. “My intention is to release it to everyone.”
McCarthy dismissed questions about his decision to share the footage with Carlson, who has downplayed the Jan. 6 attack, describing it as a typical media exclusive. He noted that he did not consult with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell about his decision.
Similar measures would be taken with any footage opened up to Jan. 6 defendants and their lawyers, two of the people familiar said, though details of those steps remain unclear for now. Among the big logistical questions Republicans are still discussing: whether any footage they open up to defendants can be used in court proceedings, which would effectively make it public.
McCarthy’s decision to let Carlson view the footage from the violent riot by former President Donald Trump’s supporters has already been raised in two ongoing Jan. 6 criminal cases. In one instance, a lawyer for one of the Proud Boys charged with seditious conspiracy has asked prosecutors to determine whether they will access and share the footage; then on Tuesday morning, Joseph McBride, an attorney for Jan. 6 defendant Ryan Nichols, claimed he had already been given permission to review the footage.

It’s unclear if the Justice Department has requested similar access. A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The footage release marks the latest twist in McCarthy’s complicated history with Jan. 6. He led more than 130 House Republicans in objecting to the 2020 election results, even after rioters tore through the Capitol, then condemned the riot in the immediate aftermath and said Trump bore responsibility for it.
Colleagues said McCarthy pleaded with Trump amid the chaos to call off his supporters as they ransacked the building and pummeled police. But after meeting with Trump weeks after the siege, McCarthy strongly opposed Democratic efforts to investigate the breach, particularly after then Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked two of his members from serving on the panel. He ended up spurning a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee.
Though many House Republicans have indicated they hope to move on from regularly discussing the attack, McCarthy’s decision to allow access to the footage — following pressure from a faction of conservative detractors who worked initially to deny him the speakership — has forced Jan. 6 back onto the agenda.
Speaking to his conference for the first time since permitting Carlson to review the copious amounts of internal Capitol security footage, McCarthy sought to quell any internal concerns among members, according to three House Republicans in the room who spoke on condition of anonymity.
During Tuesday’s closed-door conference meeting, McCarthy pointed to footage that Democrats played during select committee hearings last year which showed various locations during the assault, according to one of those Republicans — and described the criticism he’s received for granting Carlson access as “hypocrisy.”
Scalise also argued during a press conference Tuesday morning that the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee had already released similar types of information, as had former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter in a documentary film.
People familiar with the Jan. 6 select committee investigation have emphasized that the footage the panel aired followed intensive negotiations with the Capitol Police, which often pushed back to restrict the length of clips or number of angles the committee could show. Some footage aired by the panel had also been previously made public in ongoing criminal cases stemming from the riot.
It’s unclear what similar steps McCarthy is taking, and as a result his access for Carlson has sparked staunch pushback from Democrats, who say any wide release of unvetted footage could jeopardize Capitol security. The Capitol Police have warned repeatedly in court that any widespread access to security footage could provide a roadmap for potential perpetrators of any future assault on the Capitol.
But dozens of hours of security footage have also been publicly released in the hundreds of criminal cases that have been brought forward since Jan. 6.
Loudermilk is intimately familiar with the Jan. 6 select committee’s handling of security footage. The panel released film of a group of tourists he led through Capitol office buildings on Jan. 5, 2021 — one of whom approached the Capitol grounds the following day while recording menacing statements about Democratic leaders.
Some Republicans across the ideological spectrum praised McCarthy for his move to release the footage.
“Best if all Americans have access,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who hails from a competitive battleground district. “I don’t hear much about this at home.”
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus, praised McCarthy for the move and shrugged off those voicing security concerns: “This place is so convoluted. That’s why they don’t have a map on it … I just got lost trying to get to the tunnel.”
The Jan. 6 footage decision is getting a lot of attention during what Republicans say is an otherwise calm week — so far. In Tuesday morning’s conference meeting, Republicans discussed upcoming bills they will vote on this week, while Scalise also previewed plans for elements of their upcoming agenda, such as a parents’ bill of rights and an energy package set to hit the floor the spring, according to two GOP sources.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 28, 2023
Kevin McCarthy’s apparent deal with Tucker Carlson to share Jan. 6 footage surprised some top Capitol security officials.

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On Monday, the Fox News host described his producers’ access as “unfettered.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 21, 2023