Tucker Carlson was deemed “not credible” by the White House after making a variety of assertions based on previously unseen footage of the 2021 Capitol riots.
The condemnation mirrors similar statements made this week by prominent Democrats and Republicans.
This Monday, Mr. Carlson displayed never-before-seen footage of the riots on his broadcast.
He noted that the footage “does not depict an ongoing rebellion or riot” but rather “mainly quiet pandemonium.”
A key Republican in Congress recently granted Mr. Carlson and his crew unique access to over 40,000 hours of Capitol surveillance film.
The White House rarely criticizes journalists by name but issued a statement Wednesday regarding the prime-time television host’s coverage of the clip.
The White House concurred with criticism, including the “head of the Capitol Police and a vast array of nonpartisan senators”, who “condemned this misleading picture of the unprecedented, violent incident”, according to White House spokesman Andrew Bates.
Tucker Carlson is not credible, as Fox News’s attorneys and executives have consistently emphasized in several courts.
BBC reached out to Fox News for a reaction
In his Wednesday presentation, Mr. Carlson did not show any new material, but he reiterated his previous assertions and criticized government officials who claimed that five police officers were killed during the violence.
A Capitol Police officer suffered a stroke the day after the riot, and four others later committed suicide.
Unproven claims
Tucker Carlson, the most popular host on conservative Fox News, has long maintained that other media sources overstated the violence at the Capitol on 6 January 2021, when Trump supporters rushed the building as senators prepared to declare Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
In addition, he has speculated, without evidence, that government operatives may have incited the incident.
Mr. Carlson stated in the nearly 45-minute episode that the film indicated that while a minority of demonstrators did engage in violence, the majority were “sightseers.”
Tuesday night’s broadcast featured an interview with Tarik Johnson, a former Capitol Police officer who claimed he wore a red pro-Trump hat during the disturbance in order to assist fellow police in escaping the brawl.
Mr. Carlson questioned why knowledge about possible violence that day was not transmitted to rank-and-file cops, although he did not broadcast a great deal of fresh film from the riot.
Democrats as well as leading Republicans in Washington, the head of the Capitol police, and the family of a police officer whose death was cited by Mr. Carlson on the broadcast criticized Fox News’ reporting.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stated on Tuesday that it was a mistake for Fox News to portray the incident in a manner “totally at odds with what our leading law enforcement official here at the Capitol believes”
Mr. McConnell referred to an internal memo sent by Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, whose agency is responsible for securing the legislative facilities.
In this document, Mr. Manger asserts that the primetime Monday presentation had “offensive and false conclusions regarding the attack on January 6.”
“The program judiciously selected quieter periods from our 41,000 hours of video,” he stated.
“The commentary fails to provide context to the disorder and violence that occurred prior to or during these less tense moments.”
During Monday’s program, the Fox host displayed footage of the “QAnon Shaman” – a man called Jacob Chansley and also known as Jake Angeli – meandering around the Capitol building while being followed by police officers who show no signs of attempting to stop or arrest him, at least in the clips shown.
Chansley, who was bare-chested and wore a headpiece made of fur and horns during the Capitol riot, became one of the most recognizable individuals.
He pleaded guilty to impeding an official proceeding in September 2021 and is currently serving a 41-month jail term.
Mr. Carlson stated that the tapes – which have not been viewed in their entirety by the BBC or any other media outlet – demonstrated that police served as Chansley’s “tour guide.”
Mr. Manager refuted this account of the events, calling the charge “outrageous and incorrect.”
“Those cops did their utmost to utilize de-escalation techniques to persuade the rioters to leave the premises by persuading each other to leave,” he wrote.
According to the department of justice, over 140 police officers were assaulted that day.
The majority of those arrested in connection with the riot have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building, according to information from the justice department.
More than 300 individuals have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, and more than 100 individuals have been charged with using a lethal or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to a police officer.
Tucker Carlson also focused on Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died the next day after collapsing after returning to his office during the siege.
After being pepper-sprayed, Fox News broadcast footage of Mr. Sicknick continuing to fulfill his duties inside the Capitol.
Mr. Carlson stated,
“Whatever occurred to Brian Sicknick had nothing to do with the violence he endured outside the Capitol.”
In April 2021, a medical examiner determined that Mr. Sicknick died of natural causes due to a non-traumatic medical condition.
Tuesday, Mr. Sicknick’s family released a statement condemning the network as “propaganda” and expressing their “outrage” over the broadcast.
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