WATCH: Matt Gaetz Joins Tucker Carlson to Discuss Kevin McCarthy’s Leadership and January 6th Footage
Note: This article may contain commentary reflecting the author's opinion.
On Friday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) joined Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to discuss the vow that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made earlier this week to release the thousands of hours of footage from the day of the January 6th Capitol Riots.
Tucker opened the segment by saying “Evil thrives in secrecy. That used to be obvious to all Americans. We have a right to know and moreover, transparency is the only solution. And it looks like we are going to get some and that’s thanks to the new speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and to the small group of Republicans who pushed him in that direction.”
When asked what he thought about McCarthy’s vow to release the footage, Gaetz applauded the move.
“Bravo, Speaker McCarthy,” he said. “This was not an agreement that we had at the beginning of last week, but as the week progressed, Speaker McCarthy, to his great credit, understood this was important to a great many of us.”
“And when we get this 14,000 hours out, we’re going to be able to see the extent to which the federal agents and assets that were present that day, may or may not have increased the level of criminal acuity,” the Florida representative continued, as reported by Breitbart. “We’re going to be able to see their coordination with one another.”
“And we’re also going to be able to see if there is exculpatory evidence that would show that people never intended to violate a law, even though they might have been technically out of compliance with whatever the standard was, at that time, based on the vice president’s movements that they probably weren’t aware of anyway,” the GOP hold-out explained. “It is interesting, though, that at every time from the JFK files to 9/11, to now January 6, it’s our own government, it is our own Department of Justice, that seems to stand in the way of transparency. The Speaker of the House is now fulfilling the commitment he made to us, and he deserves a great deal of credit for it.”
“Amen. I feel the same way, and I had similar views about McCarthy,” replied Carlson. “That’s the ones you had, but I’m so thankful for this.”
Tucker then asked if there were any legitimate reasons for wanting to keep the footage secret to which Gaetz replied that it is more likely that the Department of Justice wants to hide the footage to protect itself rather than the American people.
“No. We already know that from whistleblower interviews that there were federal agents and assets on the ground that day and I think what they really want to do is protect those people,” he explained. “They don’t want the answers to the questions about coordination, exculpation, criminal acuity and I think that is what they are trying to preserve. Usually, when the Department of Justice is standing in the way of disclosure it is because they are trying to protect against embarrassment not protect our safety.”
Thanks to Rep. Gaetz pushing Speaker McCarthy to action, the American people are finally going to get the full picture as to what happened that day over two years ago. In Tucker’s words, “Amen.”
On Friday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) joined Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to discuss the vow that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made earlier this week to release the thousands of hours of footage from the day of the January 6th Capitol Riots.
Tucker opened the segment by saying “Evil thrives in secrecy. That used to be obvious to all Americans. We have a right to know and moreover, transparency is the only solution. And it looks like we are going to get some and that’s thanks to the new speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and to the small group of Republicans who pushed him in that direction.”
When asked what he thought about McCarthy’s vow to release the footage, Gaetz applauded the move.
“Bravo, Speaker McCarthy,” he said. “This was not an agreement that we had at the beginning of last week, but as the week progressed, Speaker McCarthy, to his great credit, understood this was important to a great many of us.”
“And when we get this 14,000 hours out, we’re going to be able to see the extent to which the federal agents and assets that were present that day, may or may not have increased the level of criminal acuity,” the Florida representative continued, as reported by Breitbart. “We’re going to be able to see their coordination with one another.”
GAETZ GIVES NEW DETAILS INTO HIS FIGHT ON THE HOUSE FLOOR AGAINST MCCARTHY TO REFORM CONGRESS, GIVES INSIGHT TO MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’S SUPPORT
“And we’re also going to be able to see if there is exculpatory evidence that would show that people never intended to violate a law, even though they might have been technically out of compliance with whatever the standard was, at that time, based on the vice president’s movements that they probably weren’t aware of anyway,” the GOP hold-out explained. “It is interesting, though, that at every time from the JFK files to 9/11, to now January 6, it’s our own government, it is our own Department of Justice, that seems to stand in the way of transparency. The Speaker of the House is now fulfilling the commitment he made to us, and he deserves a great deal of credit for it.”
“Amen. I feel the same way, and I had similar views about McCarthy,” replied Carlson. “That’s the ones you had, but I’m so thankful for this.”
Tucker then asked if there were any legitimate reasons for wanting to keep the footage secret to which Gaetz replied that it is more likely that the Department of Justice wants to hide the footage to protect itself rather than the American people.
“No. We already know that from whistleblower interviews that there were federal agents and assets on the ground that day and I think what they really want to do is protect those people,” he explained. “They don’t want the answers to the questions about coordination, exculpation, criminal acuity and I think that is what they are trying to preserve. Usually, when the Department of Justice is standing in the way of disclosure it is because they are trying to protect against embarrassment not protect our safety.”
Thanks to Rep. Gaetz pushing Speaker McCarthy to action, the American people are finally going to get the full picture as to what happened that day over two years ago. In Tucker’s words, “Amen.”
You Can Follow Sterling on Twitter Here