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Democrats on Capital Hill have accused Speaker Kevin McCarthy of exposing the Capitol police officers to danger and possibly compromising security secrets if he hands over thousands of hours of video footage of the Capitol riot to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

In a letter to his fellow senators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that McCarthy was “needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11.” Under Democrat control, the tapes were previously kept out of public view, with previous leadership citing safety concerns.

The letter follows a Monday broadcast where Tucker Carlson said that McCarthy had given him and his producers the tapes, which Schumer says contains “a treasure trove of closely held information” on security operations at the US capitol building in addition to secret plans for continuity of government in the event of an attack. Tucker Carlson has criticized the House investigation into Jan. 6 and accused the government of orchestrating it. On his show, Tucker said his team was reviewing the footage and would release initial findings next week.

House Democrats held a virtual caucus on the matter with Congressman Bennie Thompson, who previously chaired the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, said, “when the Select Committee obtained access to US Capitol Police video footage, it was treated with great sensitivity given concerns about the security of lawmakers, staff, and the Capitol complex.” He added that access to the footage was restricted to limited numbers of lawmakers and a “small handful” of investigators.

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