FIRST ON FOX: Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are quizzing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on remarks that they say misrepresents DHS data on the number of migrants who have passed "credible fear" screenings in the United States.
Chairman James Comer and Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., have written to DHS querying Mayorkas about remarks he made in an interview with CNN, in which he asserted an orderliness to the massive migration across the southern border seen under the Biden administration.
"The vast majority of those individuals have not sought to evade law enforcement, but have actually surrendered themselves to law enforcement and made a claim for relief under our laws," he said. "And so they make their claims, and the initial threshold for those claims under the law is lower than the ultimate asylum standard."
However, the lawmakers cite data from DHS that shows only a fraction of migrants is given a credible fear screening -- in which they would claim to have a fear of persecution or torture if returned to their home country.
"According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, more than 140,000 of the 172,116 Title 8 apprehensions made by U.S. Border Patrol agents in December 2022 resulted in an individual’s release into the country," the lawmakers write. "Yet according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), only 5,001 aliens were referred to that component for credible fear screenings that month. The numbers for other months similarly represent only a fraction of total releases."
They say that due to conflicting data, it is "impossible to know the extent of DHS’ catch and release policies."
They also claim that the statements "misrepresent DHS’s own data and perpetuates an incorrect narrative about how the Administration processes illegal border crossers for release into the United States."
"But it is clear, that instead of referring illegal aliens to USCIS for a credible fear screening, your policy in most circumstances is to simply release illegal aliens into the country," they say.
Migrants encountered at the border who have not been returned under the Title 42 public health order -- which is due to end in May -- will typically be processed and provisionally released as they continue with their immigration removal proceedings. Migrants will typically be given a Notice to Appear at an immigration court or be paroled into the U.S. while enrolled in Alternatives to Detention and told to check in at an ICE office.
The lawmakers are seeking documents and communications related to the number of illegal migrants encountered at the border and processed into the U.S. in various manners, as well as the number referred to a credible fear screening.
A spokesperson for DHS told Fox News that it responds to congressional correspondence directly via official channels "and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight."
The inquiry comes as Republicans have been scrutinizing the administration’s handling of the ongoing border crisis, with some Republicans having floated a possible impeachment of Mayorkas.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is pushing forward with a rule that would automatically make migrants ineligible for asylum if they had crossed into the U.S. illegally and failed to claim asylum at a country through which they crossed.
The administration’s policies were dealt a blow earlier this month when a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s use of parole to mass release migrants into the U.S. interior, finding the practice unlawful and accusing the administration of turning the border into a "meaningless line in the sand."
Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Saturday predicted that former President Donald Trump will be re-elected in a "landslide" if he is indicted — or possibly arrested and potentially "handcuffed" — next week.
"If this happens, Trump will be re-elected in a landslide victory," Musk tweeted.
Musk was reacting to a Fox News segment which detailed how the Manhattan District Attorney's office has asked for a meeting with law enforcement ahead of a possible Trump indictment of next week.
According to a court source, the meeting was requested Thursday and hasn't been set. The meeting is to "discuss logistics for some time next week, which would mean that they are anticipating an indictment next week," the source familiar with the planning said. Secret Service is expected to take the lead on what they will allow and won’t allow — for instance, the decision of whether to handcuff Trump.
The potential indictment stems from the lengthy investigation surrounding Trump's alleged payment of "hush money" to actress Stormy Daniels. Toward the end of the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen sent $130,000 to Daniels to prevent her from disclosing a 2006 affair with Trump. Trump reimbursed Cohen through installments. The office, led by DA Alvin Bragg, has been investigating the hush money scandal — which took place in 2016 — for the past five years.
On Saturday morning, Trump posted about the possible indictment on Truth Social, indicating that he will be "ARRESTED ON TUESDAY."
"NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!," Trump wrote.
Reached for comment Friday, the Manhattan District Attorney's office would neither "confirm or comment" on the impending indictment.
The potential for an indictment re-sparked conversation online about how it could affect Trump’s 2024 White House bid, and renewed claims from Trump allies that the probe was politically motivated.
"It’s ALL FOR POLITICS! This is what they do in communists countries to destroy their political opponents! Republicans in Congress MUST subpoena these communists and END this!" Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted.
"If they handcuff Trump, he is your next president," he said.
Others weren’t so sure. Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent noted that there had been similar predictions of scandals boosting Trump that had failed to pan out.
"Yet again we're told holding Trump accountable for corruption/crimes will lead to GOP victories. But this hasn't happened. People said impeachment would cause backlash, but he lost reelex," he said. "People said 1/6 committee would cause backlash, but Rs dramatically underperformed in 2022."
Fox News' Chris Pandolo, Marta Dhanis, Adam Sabes, and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office has asked for a meeting with law enforcement ahead of a possible indictment of former President Donald Trump next week, according to a court source.
According to the source, the meeting was requested Thursday and hasn't been set. The meeting is to "discuss logistics for some time next week, which would mean that they are anticipating an indictment next week," the source familiar with the planning said.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung reacted to the news by ripping district attorney Alvin Bragg in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling his investigation a "witch hunt" and accusing him of being in the pocket of President Biden and "radical Democrats."
"President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear," Cheung said. "From Russia, Russia, Russia, to the Mueller Hoax, to Impeachment Hoaxes 1 and 2, and even the Unlawful Mar-a-Lago Raid, Democrats have investigated and attacked President Trump since before he was elected – and they’ve failed every time."
"Now Democrats are at it again, pushing the 'Nuclear Button' and attacking a President because of a disgraced extortionist," he said. "This is happening because President Trump is leading in the polls by a large margin against both Democrats and Republicans, and there’s never been anything so blatant in American political history."
"Everyone knows it’s a sham. In fact, the Department of Justice stocked the DA’s office with top people from DC to help ‘Get Trump’ at a local level. Americans will not tolerate Radical Left Democrats turning our justice system into an injustice system to influence a presidential election, which is all they want to do. Our Country is not going to let this happen. This will backfire massively for the Democrat Party, and end in disgrace for our Nation," he added.
The potential indictment stems from the yearslong investigation surrounding Trump's alleged hush money scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels. Towards the end of the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen sent $130,000 to Daniels to prevent her from disclosing her 2006 affair with Trump. Trump reimbursed Cohen through installments.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office declined to "confirm or comment," when contacted by Fox News.
A former aide who accused former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment in a federal lawsuit has filed another lawsuit against the Empire State.
Charlotte Bennett, a former New York state employee and the second woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, filed the complaint in a state court on Wednesday, alleging the state government is accountable for Cuomo's sexual harassment and for the actions of other aides who did not take action on the matter once it was reported.
While Cuomo and the aides are not listed as defendants in the suit, Bennett targets the state with claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.
Last September, Bennett filed a lawsuit against Cuomo and members of his executive staff, including former chief of staff Jill DesRosiers; former secretary Melissa DeRosa; and special counsel Judith Mogul, saying she was retaliated against after complaining about Cuomo's alleged misconduct.
In the September suit, Bennett said Cuomo "subjected her to sexualized comments about her appearance" and "assigned her humiliating and demeaning tasks." She also said Cuomo "subjected her to invasive and unwanted questions about her personal life, romantic and sexual relationships, and history as a survivor of sexual assault."
The former aide also alleged in the lawsuit that Cuomo said he was "lonely" in a comment to her and wanted a girlfriend who lived in Albany, allegedly adding that he would be willing to date someone over the age of 21. Bennett was 25 at the time of the alleged remark.
Bennett also alleges Cuomo made "sexual advances" toward her, and cited a June 25, 2020, incident. She said in the lawsuit that while Cuomo was discussing a proposal on police reform, he said that the way Bennett's mask moved in and out when she breathes reminded him of the monsters in the movie "Predator."
Cuomo has denied the allegations, with a spokesperson for the former governor, Rita Glavin, telling Fox News Digital last year that Cuomo has always said that he "didn't harass anyone."
"The Governor has always said he didn’t harass anyone and with each day that goes by more and more information is uncovered showing how evidence favorable to the Governor was suppressed and crucial facts ignored or omitted that undermined witness credibility. What else will come out during the discovery process? We’ll see them in court," Glavin said at the time.
Bennett alleged in the September 2022 lawsuit that DesRosiers, Mogul and DeRosa all "aided and abetted" the sexual harassment, and said that Cuomo subjected her to a "sexually hostile work environment."
When Bennett reported Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment to DesRosiers, the lawsuit alleges that she was transferred to an "inferior position" on the Executive Chamber's health policy team.
The New York attorney general's office did not immediately respond to Fox News when asked about Bennett's lawsuit against the state.
New York AG Letitia James' office conducted a months-long investigation into Cuomo, concluding with an August 2021 report that said he sexually harassed at least 11 women from 2013 to 2020. Cuomo stepped down from office shortly after the report was made public to avoid what many saw as his likely impeachment.
Cuomo filed an ethics complaint against James last year, alleging she violated conduct rules and had an "intolerable personal and political conflict of interest" when she selected two investigators as part of the probe.
Fox News' Adam Sabes and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this article.
A handful of House Republicans are looking to ban Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his staff from flying on federal executive aircraft or private jets until he presents a plan to Congress for securing the southwestern U.S. border.
The "Mayorkas Must Fly Coach Until We Secure the Border Act" would require Mayorkas to fly on commercial airlines, and reflects the growing frustration with the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis. A record 2.3 million migrant encounters were logged in fiscal year 2022, up from 1.7 million the year before.
A record-high 251,000 border encounters were seen in December, and while that number fell to about 150,000 in January, Republicans continue to argue that failing to control the border is putting migrant children at risk and allowing fentanyl and other dangerous drugs to enter the U.S. unchecked, along with millions of illegal immigrants.
"This bill simply recognizes what is already obvious to South Texans and millions of Americans: Secretary Mayorkas’ failure to secure the southern border has hurt the American people and resulted in a humanitarian crisis in communities like mine," said Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, the lead sponsor of the bill. "If he refuses to fulfill the most basic functions of his office, he should be stripped of the private flights he currently enjoys, courtesy of American taxpayers, until he does his job."
The legislation is a relatively minor punishment for Mayorkas compared to two other bills proposed by Republicans that would impeach him.
One of those bills, from Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, says Mayorkas has violated his constitutional oath by failing to maintain operational control over the border, as more than 5.5 million illegal immigrants have crossed into the U.S. under his watch. That resolution, which has 41 cosponsors, says Mayorkas terminated contracts for the remaining construction of the border wall started by President Trump and accuses him of lying to Congress by testifying last year that the U.S. government has operational control of the border.
A second impeachment resolution, from Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., makes similar arguments and notes that Mayorkas has violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by releasing illegal immigrants into the U.S. instead of removing them. "The Secretary of Homeland Security does not have the option of simply releasing those aliens into the interior of the United States," reads that resolution, which has 31 GOP cosponsors.
Biggs is a cosponsor of De La Cruz’s bill banning Mayorkas from private jets, along with Reps. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga.
Despite widespread frustration with the Biden administration’s border policies, House Republicans have yet to schedule a vote on any bill aimed at pressuring Mayorkas into doing more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S.
A former Indiana congressman and Persian Gulf War veteran was convicted Friday of insider trading charges after a two-week jury trial.
The verdict against Steve Buyer, a Republican lawyer who served in Congress from 1993 to 2011, was returned after a jury heard evidence about stock purchases he made after he became a consultant and lobbyist.
Buyer once chaired the House Veterans’ Affairs committee and served for a time as a House prosecutor during former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial.
The jury returned guilty verdicts on four securities fraud charges. Judge Richard M. Berman set sentencing for July 11.
Prosecutors said at trial that Buyer took information from clients and used it to make illegal stock trades.
His lawyers, though, argued that he was a stock market buff who did research that led to legal profitable trades. They said it was a coincidence that his clients purchased two companies that he had invested in.
Authorities said Buyer made over $320,000 illegally for himself, relatives and a woman with whom he’d had an affair.
Buyer, 64, was an Army reservist with a solo law practice in Monticello, Indiana, when he was called for active duty during the 1990-91 Gulf War. He served as a legal adviser in a prisoner of war camp.
On returning home, he ran for Congress and unseated three-term Democrat Jim Jontz in 1992.
While in Washington, Buyer helped draw attention to Gulf War-related illnesses, and he worked on other issues relating to the military, veterans, prescription drugs and tobacco.
A Democratic congressman tasked with pushing back against Republican investigations into President Biden, his administration, and the president's son, Hunter Biden, has links to a major consultancy that manages a fund funneling millions to a group attempting to torpedo those very investigations, Fox News Digital has discovered.
Through his family foundation, Rep. Daniel Goldman, D.-N.Y, a member of the House Oversight Committee, has ties to Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm that overlooks the largest dark money network in the country. Arabella Advisors manages the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has bankrolled the Congressional Integrity Project, a group of liberal operatives working behind the scenes with Democrats in attempts to smother the Biden investigations by Goldman's GOP colleagues on the Oversight Committee.
Goldman, a wealthy heir to the Levi Strauss jean company fortune, acted as the lead Democratic counsel for President Trump's first impeachment, making him a valuable asset for Democrats on the powerful Oversight Committee, where he'll serve as a main counterpunch to Republican investigators.
"Representative Goldman's deep-seated financial ties to a dark money network that is attempting to influence the Oversight Committee are extremely problematic," Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, told Fox News Digital. "How can Goldman be trusted to execute his duties ethically when he seems so fraught with conflicts himself?"
Goldman's ties to Arabella Advisors lie with his family foundation, the Richard W. Goldman Family Foundation, which works to "promote equality" and reduce "barriers to opportunity across generations for our nation's most disadvantaged." According to tax forms, Goldman held several roles at the foundation, which he typically operated alongside a few other family members. In 2012, he became its secretary; in 2018, he also took over its treasurer responsibilities.
The same year he became its treasurer, Goldman's family foundation moved its books into the care of Arabella Advisors. But even before the influential firm took over its books, the foundation had paid Arabella Advisors hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees dating back to 2013, its tax forms show. The foundation has also doled out more than $1.2 million to the New Venture Fund, an Arabella Advisors-managed dark money nonprofit incubator, for endeavors.
Goldman's 2022 financial disclosure shows that he had shifted his position to the sole family foundation board member reported on previous years' tax forms.
Arabella Advisors, meanwhile, manages the Sixteen Thirty Fund, another dark money nonprofit incubator that pushes hundreds of millions of dollars into left-wing causes and initiatives each year. In 2020 and 2021, the Sixteen Thirty Fund funneled $1.5 million into the Congressional Integrity Project, the Washington Examiner first reported, which was nearly all of the Congressional Integrity Project's cash during that time.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund told the publication that they're "proud to support efforts to strengthen integrity and transparency in government" and that their grants to the Congressional Integrity Project "funded important research to ensure effective, ethical leadership in Washington."
Despite receiving the cash, the Congressional Integrity Project, launched in 2020, had gone dormant for some time. It resurfaced late last year following the midterm elections to begin preparing to push back against the Biden investigations, primarily by setting its sights on the Republicans conducting them.
Politico reported last November that the group remobilized by launching a multi-million dollar hub to counter Republican investigative efforts, including rapid response teams, researchers, pollsters, and a media campaign to put Republicans "squarely on the defense," Kyle Herrig, a Congressional Integrity Project founder, told the publication.
Herrig said his group would act as the party's "leading war room" to dent Republican investigators. A person familiar with its plans said they had briefed Democratic leadership on the group's operations last year, and they've since reportedly held calls with top party lawmakers.
House Oversight Republicans will zero in on various issues, ranging from the border crisis to the Biden family's domestic and international business dealings.
Goldman's office did not respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry on his ties to Arabella Advisors and if the Congressional Integrity Project had ever briefed him or anyone on his staff. His family foundation and the Congressional Integrity Project also did not respond to requests for comment.
Arabella Advisors overlooks America's largest liberal dark money network and recently expanded its operations by acquiring the New York-based Kiwi Partners, which provides nonprofit accounting and consulting services.
The expansion happened as the nexus continued its operations as the pinnacle dark money network, further showing how Democrats have exploited anonymous donations while publicly railing against their political influence.
The five Arabella Advisors-managed funds - the Sixteen Thirty, New Venture, Hopewell, Windward, and North funds - experience massive cash flows that include billions of dollars raised and poured into progressive causes and initiatives across the country. None of the funds disclose their contributors, but some of the most prominent Democratic donors have passed cash to them, their own tax forms have shown.
"As we've stated repeatedly, Arabella Advisors is a business dedicated to making philanthropic work more efficient, effective, and equitable," an Arabella spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. "Our nonprofit clients hire us to provide HR, legal, payroll and other administrative services—and, like all service providers, we work for our clients, not the other way around. They make their own decisions on strategy, fundraising, and programmatic goals."
Groups tied to the network also work behind the scenes on Biden initiatives. For example, Governing for Impact, a group fiscally sponsored by the New Venture Fund and bankrolled by a George Soros nonprofit, has worked with Biden's administration to shape policy, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Arabella Advisors did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment on this story.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke at the League of United Latin American Citizens conference Wednesday, where he enthusiastically commended U.S. Border Patrol agents.
"The United States Border Patrol make up an extraordinary workforce – individuals who risk their lives every day to secure the border," Mayorkas told the LULAC crowd.
"And I will tell you something," he continued, "[In] the summer of 2014, I visited the border when the increase in unaccompanied children was occurring, and it was incredible what those Border Patrol agents were doing for those children out of their own pockets."
"What they were doing in terms of providing much needed supplies for those kids – whether it was blankets, diapers or whether it was toys," the secretary said. "These are parents in their own right and I want to commend the Border Patrol."
Asked by Garcia what his department was doing to improve humanitarian care at the border, Mayorkas defended the agency over images of migrant children sleeping on Border Patrol facility floors in silver mylar blankets.
"This is why I said in 2021, when we saw the increase in the number of children in Border Patrol stations, ‘The Border Patrol station is no place for a child,’" Mayorkas told Garcia. "There are no cots, there are no beds, so children are on the floor. Those silver blankets are mylar blankets. Why? Because they provide warmth but a cloth or wool or the like actually breed insects that can actually serve a detriment to the well-being of the children. So it's visually troubling, but it's actually a health safety issue."
He went on to say that – under his direction – the department went on to dedicate 300 individuals to ensure the system would not "bottleneck" at the stations.
"And so we succeeded in that process," he concluded.
Mayorkas, a Cuba native who grew up in Beverly Hills, California, after his family fled the Castro regime, has been under fire for his handling of the southern border crisis.
Republicans claim he has failed to adjudicate standing federal immigration laws and instead has overseen a deluge of illegal immigrants.
Numbers at the border rocketed up shortly after the Biden administration took office and remained high since then. There were over 1.7 million encounters of migrants at the border in FY 21 and more than 2.3 million in FY 22. So far in FY 2023, which began in October, there have been more than a million encounters.
Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who made waves as a witness during the first impeachment proceedings of former President Donald Trump, is now being accused of trying to profit off the war in Ukraine by pitching lucrative defense contracts through his private company.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who was one of the sharpest critics of Vindman throughout the impeachment investigation, blasted him as an "opportunist," and accused him of undertaking continuous efforts to try and personally profit from his attacks against the Trump administration to his reported dealings in Ukraine.
The first impeachment of Trump centered around a July 2019 call in which Trump pressed Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine—specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. The president’s request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats and some witnesses, including Vindman, cited as a quid pro quo arrangement.
"When conservatives speak the truth, the mainstream media panics and desperately attempts to provide cover for the left. They did this for Alexander Vindman, just like they did for Hunter Biden, Dr. Fauci and teachers unions," Blackburn said, referencing liberal media outlets' staunch defense of Vindman throughout his time as a witness during the impeachment investigation.
"Alexander Vindman has always been a political activist and opportunist masquerading behind his career. He saw an opening for personal fame and profited by exploiting the media’s outrage against President Trump," she accused.
"Vindman has spent the last three years on MSNBC and CNN attacking Republicans. Now, new revelations suggest Vindman could be profiting off the war in Ukraine, just as he did by speaking out against the Trump administration," Blackburn added.
According to a report by Human Events, a conservative digital newspaper, Vindman has been pitching the government of Ukraine to obtain defense contracts through Trident International LLC, of which he is the CEO.
The report stated that last year, Vindman, who was born in Ukraine, pitched a project worth $12 million that his company said would address the country's problems with managing the readiness, repair and maintenance of its weapons systems by developing a center within the country to essentially operate as a middle-man between NATO and the Ukrainian military.
The center would reportedly operate in such a way that equipment and weapons could be repaired in closer proximity to the front line and cut down on the time it takes for transpiration and maintenance.
It's unclear, however, if the project has been approved as the report stated court documents showed there was an ongoing dispute over payments related to the project.
According to Breitbart News, Vindman appeared to confirm Human Events' report in a now deleted tweet.
"Thanks for the advert. I’m trying to get logistics in place to help Ukraine win the war and secure America. Looking for philanthropic contributions to get it going. Reach out if you support the cause of democracy and US National Security," Vindman allegedly tweeted.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Vindman responded to the accusations by blasting Blackburn, accusing her of lying and contributing to him ultimately leaving the military.
"Ooh, Blackburn. She’s an idiot, an agent of chaos promoting disinformation. She has never said one true thing about me. Her attacks in 2019/20 contributed to an environment that made it impossible for me to continue my nonpartisan military service," Vindman said.
"More importantly, it’s the politicization of Ukraine, by the fringe right, that brought about this war, imperiling Ukraine, Europe, and most importantly the U.S.," he added.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson whipped up a firestorm Tuesday on Capitol Hill, sparking bipartisan backlash and igniting tensions with Capitol Police by downplaying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on his prime-time program as “mostly peaceful chaos.”
His show divided Republicans, with a number of GOP senators ripping his portrayal of the incursion at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, who rarely offers opinions on political issues, said the Monday night show was filled with “offensive and misleading conclusions about the Jan. 6 attack.”
“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,” Manger wrote in a memo to lawmakers.
“Those of you who contributed to the effort to allow this country’s legislative process to continue know firsthand what actually happened.”
The segment was the first of two installments planned for this week relying on security footage granted to Carlson by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Carlson was expected to air more clips from the footage during his show on Tuesday evening.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a scathing rebuke of Carlson and Fox on Tuesday, holding up a copy of the memo and saying he wanted to associate himself “with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on Jan. 6.”
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) holds up a letter from U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger during a media availability following the weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. McConnell supports Manger’s view against the released video footage to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson of the Jan.6 attack on the Capitol. (Greg Nash)
“It was a mistake, in my view, [for] Fox News to depict this in a way completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official in the Capitol” described, McConnell said.
It’s an unusual position for the host of one of Fox’s most-watched programs, who, while often a magnet for the ire of the left, seldom gets such direct criticism from those on the right.
Carlson, who has previously criticized McCarthy on his show, suggested at the start of the year that the new House Speaker release all Jan. 6 security footage in order to win support from detractors threatening to block his path to the gavel. McCarthy later gave Carlson exclusive first access to the footage, but has denied that release came as a result of negotiations for the Speakership.
Though McCarthy and other Republicans said last week that footage released for broadcast would be subject to a Capitol Police security review, and Carlson said as much on his show, Capitol Police said it saw just one of the several clips that Carlson aired on Monday: An interior door that Carlson said was blurred as a result of security concerns.
“We repeatedly requested that any clips be shown to us first for a security review,” Capitol Police told The Hill on Monday. “So far we have only been given the ability to preview a single clip out of the multiple clips that aired.”
A senior GOP aide with knowledge of the process of releasing the footage said the Capitol Police provided a list of what would be considered security sensitive, and only one clip that Carlson wanted to air met that standard, which Capitol Police then cleared.
The same camera angle was released without any blur on the door during the 2021 impeachment of former President Trump.
“We worked with the Capitol Police to identify any security-sensitive footage and made sure it wasn’t released,” McCarthy spokesman Mark Bednar said in a statement.
A representative for Fox News declined to comment on Tuesday.
A number of lawmakers offered pointed and direct criticism of Carlson’s first use of the footage.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), meanwhile, told multiple news outlets said that Carlson’s show on the Jan. 6 footage was “bullshit.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told CNN: “To somehow put that in the same category as a permitted peaceful protest is just a lie.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer is among the Republicans that have criticized Tucker Carlson airing Jan. 6 footage. (Greg Nash)
Carlson at the same time won plaudits from other Republicans who have similarly criticized and downplayed the attack.
“When will judges begin applying justice equally? Doesn’t look like “thousands of armed insurrectionists” to me,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in a tweet after thanking McCarthy and Carlson for showing the footage.
“I've seen enough. Release all J6 political prisoners now,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) said in a tweet as Carlson’s show aired.
Trump also weighed in on the footage, praising Carlson and McCarthy over its publication and calling the tapes the Fox host played for his audience “irrefutable.”
Carlson aired the footage after being granted access to the trove of security tapes by McCarthy, prompting outrage from Democrats and pundits who raised concerns that the tapes could threaten Capitol security procedures and amplify conspiracy theories.
Former President Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. (Greg Nash)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate floor on Tuesday called Carlson’s show “one of the most shameful hours we’ve seen on cable television,” saying he was “furious” with both Carlson and McCarthy. He called on Fox News and its owner Rupert Murdoch to tell Carlson to not run more footage on Tuesday evening.
“Speaker McCarthy has played a treacherous, treacherous game in catering to the far right,” Schumer said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was one of the members on the Jan. 6 committee, is among those who have raised security concerns over the release of the footage, noting it could be used to map the Capitol and the evacuation path of lawmakers.
He called Carlson’s show and conspiracies about Jan. 6 pushed through his documentary a “central part of the GOP agenda and playbook as they try to get Donald Trump elected to the White House again.”
“They didn't even apparently honor their agreement with the Capitol Police to provide the clips in advance. So there can be some attempt to contextualize whatever silly potshots they're taking,” he told The Hill.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (Annabelle Gordon)
“The absurd part is they act like their fragmented and disoriented potshots from Capitol security footage are the only documentary record of what happened. There are thousands and thousands of hours that have already been published – not just security footage – but also [by] media that were present and insurrectionists themselves. The whole world was watching and everyone knows exactly what happened. They are involved in a fraudulent enterprise here,” he added.
Among the unfounded theories Carlson floated in his Monday program were suggestions that federal agents helped incite the violence, though he stopped short of providing evidence to prove it. He also cast doubt on the circumstances surrounding the death of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick.
It was something Manger deemed “the most disturbing accusation from last night” in asserting his death “had nothing to do with heroic actions on Jan. 6.”
“The department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day,” the chief said.
The top-rated host last year produced and published a multi-part documentary series dubbed “Patriot Purge,” which purported to tell an alternative story of the attack and features at least one subject who suggests the event may have been a “false flag” operation.
The publication of the tapes also comes as Carlson specifically and Fox more generally are taking intense heat from critics over revelations the company’s top executives and talent embraced and discussed Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election on air but privately cast doubt on them.
“They believed the election they had just voted in had been unfairly conducted,” Carlson said Monday of the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. “They were right. In retrospect, it is clear the 2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy, given the facts that have since emerged about that election,” he said. “No honest person can deny it. Yet the beneficiaries of that election continue to lie about what is now obvious.”
Manger dismissed those conclusions in his Tuesday letter.
“TV commentary will not record the truth of our history books,” he wrote in his letter. “The Justice system will. Truth and justice are on our side.”
