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McCarthy Now Fundraising Off Giving Tucker Carlson ‘44,000 Hours’ of J6 Capitol Security Video as Democrats Blast Decision

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As every major news outlet – except one – last week was focused on the nearly 200-page court document detailing text messages and other communications from Fox News top hosts and even Rupert Murdoch admitting Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” was a lie while they continued to promote it for ratings, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was handing over to top Fox News propagandist Tucker Carlson tens of thousands of hours of U.S. Capitol security camera footage from the January 6 insurrection.

And now, he’s fundraising off his efforts that could endanger not only the Capitol Police, but every person work works in the Capitol Building, every lawmakers, every aide, and every person who visits.

“Patriot, you deserve the facts – all of the facts. I promised I would give you the truth regarding January 6th, and now I am delivering. I have released the full 44,000 hours of uncut camera surveillance footage, McCarthy says in a fundraising email posted by Bloomberg’s Emily Wilkins.

His claim is at best inaccurate. He did not “release” the footage, he haded it over to one man — not even to just one network, but one man, Tucker Carlson, who will use it on his Fox News cable show, his Fox Nation streaming show, and his radio show. “Releasing” the footage would have been allowing more than one news entity access to it.

READ MORE: ‘Going for the Jugular’: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Subpoenaed by ‘Tenacious’ Special Counsel – Legal Experts Respond

“It is in the public interest to know everything that happened that day – not just the narrative that Pelosi’s partisan committee wanted you to see ahead of the 2022 midterm elections,” McCarthy says. “We made a Commitment to America – a commitment to YOU – when we asked for your vote last fall. A commitment to ALL of America requires truth and transparency over partisan games. Now, we are delivering. Would you consider chipping in $25, $50, or $100 to help House Republicans keep delivering on our commitments to America?”

McCarthy isn’t just fundraising off the footage, he used the promise of releasing it to get elected Speaker.

“During the multi-day stalemate last month,” when the House voted 15 times before electing McCarthy Speaker, writes The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona. “Tucker Carlson told the ‘Never Kevin’ holdouts that McCarthy shouldn’t be speaker unless he agreed to release all the video footage from the Jan. 6 insurrection. Three days later, McCarthy finally got the votes.”

Handing the footage over to Carlson, a propagandist is so dangerous the Capitol Police are reportedly trying to quash it.

READ MORE: Watch: Alaska GOP Lawmaker Says It’s a ‘Benefit to Society’ When ‘Child Abuse Is Fatal’ Because There’s a ‘Cost Savings’

Politico, citing a source, on Tuesday reported Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger “told associates he didn’t learn of the arrangement between McCarthy and Carlson until it began publicly circulating Monday. Capitol Police have been extremely reluctant to share large swaths of their security footage, citing potential risks to lawmakers, aides and officers tasked with protecting the building.”

House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland also was not told of the deal with Carlson.

And while Politico claims “Any move to send Carlson or his associates those video files may require approval from the Capitol Police Board,” it appears Carlson’s team already has been poring over it for the past week.

How did that happen?

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), Chair of the House Administration Committee, “requested Capitol Police set up a terminal to view the footage in late Jan.,” according to CNN’s Annie Grayer. “At some point unbeknownst to Cap. Police, Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave Carlson access to the terminal.”

That could have national security implications well into the future.

Democrats in the House and Senate are furious.

“Kevin McCarthy undermines security on Capitol Hill – in ways officials say could endanger the safety of Capitol Police officers – to feed January 6 footage to a propagandist who downplayed the attack on the Capitol. Now McCarthy is using that to raise money. Absolutely appalling,” says U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday in a “Dear Colleague” letter blasted McCarthy’s “egregious” act. And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday issued a separate “Dear Colleague” letter warning that McCarthy was “needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11.”

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Gag Order Breach? Trump Targeted Cohen in Taped Interview Hours Before Contempt Hearing

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Hours before his attorneys would mount a defense on Tuesday claiming he had not violated his gag order Donald Trump might have done just that in a 12-minute taped interview that morning, which did not air until later that day. It will be up to Judge Juan Merchan to make that decision, if prosecutors add it to their contempt request.

Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office told Judge Juan Merchan that the ex-president violated the gag order ten times, via posts on his Truth Social platform, and are asking he be held in contempt. While the judge has yet to rule, he did not appear moved by their arguments. At one point, Judge Merchan told Trump’s lead lawyer Todd Blanche he was “losing all credibility” with the court.

And while Judge Merchan directed defense attorneys to provide a detailed timeline surrounding Trump’s Truth Social posts to prove he had not violated the gag order, Trump in an interview with a local television station appeared to have done so.

READ MORE: ‘They Will Have Thugs?’: Lara Trump’s Claim RNC Will ‘Physically Handle the Ballots’ Stuns

The gag order bars Trump from “commenting or causing others to comment on potential witnesses in the case, prospective jurors, court staff, lawyers in the district attorney’s office and the relatives of any counsel or court staffer, as CBS News reported.

“The threat is very real,” Judge Merchan wrote when he expanded the gag order. “Admonitions are not enough, nor is reliance on self-restraint. The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.”

Tuesday morning, Trump told ABC Philadelphia’s Action News reporter Walter Perez, “Michael Cohen is a convicted liar. He’s got no credibility whatsoever.”

He repeated that Cohen is a “convicted liar,” and insisted he “was a lawyer for many people, not just me.”

READ MORE: ‘Old and Tired and Mad’: Trump’s Demeanor in Court Detailed by Rachel Maddow

Since Cohen is a witness in Trump’s New York criminal case, Judge Merchan might decide Trump’s remarks during that interview violated the gag order, if prosecutors bring the video to his attention.

Enter attorney George Conway, who has been attending Trump’s New York trial.

Conway reposted a clip of the video, tagged Manhattan District Attorney Bragg, writing: “cc: @ManhattanDA, for your proposed order to show cause why the defendant in 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘷. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 should not spend some quiet time in lockup.”

Trump has been criminally indicted in four separate cases and is facing a total of 88 felony charges, including 34 in this New York criminal trial for alleged falsification of business records to hide payments of “hush money” to an adult film actress and one other woman, in an alleged effort to suppress their stories and protect his 2016 presidential campaign, which experts say is election interference.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Blood on Your Hands’: Tennessee Republicans OK Arming Teachers After Deadly School Shooting

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‘Blood on Your Hands’: Tennessee Republicans OK Arming Teachers After Deadly School Shooting

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Republicans in the Tennessee House passed legislation Tuesday afternoon allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons in classrooms across the state, thirteen months after a 28-year old shooter slaughtered three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville.

The measure is reportedly not popular statewide, with Democrats, teachers, and parents from the school, Covenant Elementary, largely opposed. The Republican Speaker of the House, Cameron Sexton, at one point literally shut down debate on the bill by shutting off a Democratic lawmaker’s microphone and then smiling.

Ultimately, Republican Rep. Ryan Williams’s legislation passed the GOP majority House as protestors in the gallery shouted their objections: “Blood on your hands.”

READ MORE: Trump Complains He’s ‘Not Allowed to Talk’ as He Gripes Live on Camera

The legislation bars parents from being informed if their child’s teacher has a gun in the classroom.

State Troopers were called to “prevent people from getting close to the House chambers,” WSMV’s Marissa Sulek reports.

“You’re going to kill kids,” one woman had yelled at Rep. Williams from the gallery on Monday, The Tennessean reports. “You’re going to be responsible for the death of children. Shame on you.”

READ MORE: Biden Campaign Hammers Trump Over Infamous COVID Comment

Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones said on social media, “This is what fascism looks like.”

“In recent weeks,” the paper also reports, “parents of school shooting survivors, students and gun-reform advocates have heavily lobbied against the bill, with one Covenant School mom delivering a letter to the House on Monday with more than 5,300 signatures asking lawmakers to kill the bill.

The bill, which already passed the state Senate, now heads to Republican Governor Bill Lee’s desk. He is expected to sign it into law.

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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Biden Campaign Hammers Trump Over Infamous COVID Comment

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Four years ago today then-President Donald Trump, on live national television during what would be known as merely the early days and weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggested an injection of a household “disinfectant” could cure the deadly coronavirus.

The Biden campaign on Tuesday has already posted five times on social media about Trump’s 2020 remarks, including by saying, “Four years ago today, Dr. Birx reacted in horror as Trump told Americans to inject bleach on national television.”

Less than 24 hours after Trump’s remarks calls to the New York City Poison Control Center more than doubled, including people complaining of Lysol and bleach exposure. Across the country, the CDC reported, calls to state and local poison control centers jumped 20 percent.

“It was a watershed moment, soon to become iconic in the annals of presidential briefings. It arguably changed the course of political history,” Politico reported on the one-year anniversary of Trump’s bleach debacle. “It quickly came to symbolize the chaotic essence of his presidency and his handling of the pandemic.”

How did it happen?

“The Covid task force had met earlier that day — as usual, without Trump — to discuss the most recent findings, including the effects of light and humidity on how the virus spreads. Trump was briefed by a small group of aides. But it was clear to some aides that he hadn’t processed all the details before he left to speak to the press,” Politico added.

READ MORE: ‘Cutting Him to Shreds’: ‘Pissed’ Judge Tells Trump’s Attorney ‘You’re Losing All Credibility’

“’A few of us actually tried to stop it in the West Wing hallway,’ said one former senior Trump White House official. ‘I actually argued that President Trump wouldn’t have the time to absorb it and understand it. But I lost, and it went how it did.'”

The manufacturer of Lysol issued a strong statement saying, “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route),” with “under no circumstance” in bold type.

Trump’s “disinfectant” remarks were part of a much larger crisis during the pandemic: misinformation and disinformation. In 2021, a Cornell University study found the President was the “single largest driver” of COVID misinformation.

What did Trump actually say?

“And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out, in a minute,” Trump said from the podium at the White House press briefing room, as Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx looked on without speaking up. “Is there a way we can do something like that? By injection, inside, or almost a cleaning, ’cause you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that. You’re going to have to use medical doctors, right? But it sounds interesting to me.”

READ MORE: ‘Rally Behind MAGA’: Trump Advocates Courthouse ‘Protests’ Nationwide

Within hours comedian Sarah Cooper, who had a good run mocking Donald Trump, released a video based on his remarks that went viral:

The Biden campaign at least 12 times on the social media platform X has mentioned Trump’s infamous and dangerous remarks about injecting “disinfectant,” although, like many, they have substituted the word “bleach” for “disinfectant.”

Hours after Trump’s remarks, from his personal account, Joe Biden posted this tweet:

Tuesday morning the Biden campaign released this video marking the four-year anniversary of Trump’s “disinfectant” remarks.

See the social media posts and videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Election Interference’ and ‘Corruption’: Experts Explain Trump Prosecution Opening Argument

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