‘Irresponsible’ and ‘reckless’: Ex-Trump official blasts McCarthy in Fox J6 video controversy
Many prominent Republicans have publicly criticized Fox News for downplaying the violence that occurred in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol this week after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy provided the right-wing network with more than 40,000 hours of exclusive footage.
A former Trump official went a step further Wednesday.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as the former president’s assistant and director of strategic communications, blasted McCarthy for a move she called “irresponsible” and “reckless.”
“It's just so irresponsible and reckless but it's also the most predictable outcome,” Griffin said Wednesday during an appearance on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper.
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“So Tucker Carlson got something like 40,000 hours of footage and he decided to air just random bits to suggest of course that it was peaceful not going you know, not airing the footage that shows people like my friend officer (Michael) Fanone being beaten.
“But this again, this was a deal that Kevin McCarthy had made when he was trying to get the speakership, and what I think it does is it just undermines everything. In the moment that this huge (Dominion) lawsuit is looming, Tucker Carlson is actually leaning into conspiracy. He's not shying away from it, and I think it shows how untouchable he feels at a network that has just boosted conspiracies left and right.”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger issued an internal memo harshly critical of Fox’s coverage obtained by CNN.
“Last night an opinion program aired commentary that was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack,” Manger’s memo said.
“The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined Manger in criticizing Fox News.
“With regard to the presentation on Fox News last night, I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the Chief of the Capitol Police about what happened on January 6,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday.
Watch the segment below or at this link.
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