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We regret to inform you that we agree with Mike Lindell. Never in our wildest imaginings did we envision finding ourself aligned with that demented pillow puffer.
Truly, it’s a blow.
But yesterday, Lindell visited Steve Bannon for his regular scream therapy session to yell about how mad he is that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is giving all the security footage from the Capitol Riot to Tucker Carlson, and … the man has got a point.
BANNON: Mike, what’s the breaking news? You’ve got something you’re about to file, I know you’re sending a letter, I think preserve your documents or you’re talking about a suit that you got incoming. Can you get us up to speed on it?
LINDELL: Yeah it’s as everybody knows Kevin McCarthy and the gang released 44,000 hours from January 6th to exclusively Fox News. Well, we’re not going to sit back and let that happen. This is our first amendment provision.
Well, the Speech or Debate Clause may say otherwise, but good on ya, loonypants! It is indeed scandalous that McCarthy is allowing Carlson to broadcast video which will give future invaders a roadmap of the Capitol and its weak points.
McCarthy’s Democratic counterpart Rep. Hakeem Jeffries called it “an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police, who valiantly defended our democracy with their lives at risk on that fateful day.”
In a “Dear Colleague” letter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer laid into the speaker for publishing “a treasure trove of closely held information about how the Capitol complex is protected.”
“Releasing security footage publicly reveals the location of security cameras across the Capitol grounds, making it harder and more dangerous for our brave Capitol police officers to do their job. It also risks exposing the carefully laid out and highly guarded plans for the continuity of government, intended to preserve our democracy in the event of an attack,” he wrote, adding that, “by handpicking Tucker Carlson, Speaker McCarthy laid bare that this sham is simply about pandering to MAGA election deniers, not the truth.”
And Carlson has apparently confirmed his intent to use the footage to undermine the account of events published by the January 6 Select Committee.
“We’ve been there about a week. Our producers, some of our smartest producers, have been looking at this stuff and trying to figure out what it means and how it contradicts or not the story we’ve been told for more than two years,” Carlson said. “We think already in some ways that it does contradict that story.”
Yes, that would be the same Tucker Carlson who was privately furious that his employer broke faith with its viewers by accurately reporting that Trump had lost the election in Arizona. And if you can’t trust that guy …
Back in the War Room, Bannon was skeptical of Lindell’s plan to file yet another lawsuit.
“Of all the fights we got in the world, of all the terrible things going on, we’re fighting on every different front, they’re giving 44,000 hours to Tucker because he’s got the staff to do it,” he spluttered.
But the Pillow Man was not calmed.
“Fox is going to sift through it and only put out what they want and I’m tired of them breaking our constitutional rights,” he countered, arguing that providing the footage to one favored outlet violates the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clauses.
Why does just Fox get this? So they can cover it up even more? It’s disgusting. All of us, including War Room, we all need to see what’s on those tapes and we need to see all of them. And we need to go through them. We’re the press too.
Lindell says that he met with his lawyers, who jettisoned a plan to sue Fox to gain access, in favor of going “right after the Speaker, right after Congress.”
(Please, oh, please, let Dersh be on this one.)
Lindell promises to take this case all the way to the Supreme Court. In the event, that probably won’t be necessary. McCarthy has already said that he’s going to release the footage widely. But first he’s going to give his pal Tucker a running head start to spin in for the MAGA faithful.
What could possibly go wrong here?
Mike Lindell says he’s suing Speaker Kevin McCarthy for giving Tucker Carlson and Fox the exclusive on the January 6th footage [Media Matters]
Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.
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