Capitol Police attorney: House GOP rebuffed efforts to review footage

March 18 (UPI) -- House GOP leaders rebuffed requests by Capitol Police to review security footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks before the material was released to Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, a new court filing indicates.

In a six-page declaration filed Friday as part of a criminal case related to the Jan. 6 attack, Capitol Police General Counsel Thomas DiBiase stated that only one of the 40 clips that Carlson aired were reviewed by Capitol Police.

"Of the numerous clips shown during the Tucker Carlson show on March 6 and 7, 2023, I was shown only one clip before it aired, " DiBiase said.

The remaining clips, he stated, "were never shown to me nor anyone else from the Capitol Police."

According to the declaration, Capital Police only became aware the surveillance would be aired publicly through media reports and that "access was not previewed with the Capitol Police nor was the Capitol Police informed before that access was granted."

In his filing, DiBiase said restrictions on access to footage are normally in place to protect the security of the Capitol Building.

"The primary, but not exclusive, reason for these restrictions is to protect the physical security of the Capitol compound and the safety of those who work in or visit the Capital," he said, "allowing less restricted access to the CCV system could present a dire safety risk to then Capitol and its inhabitants."

DiBiase emphasized that "even a knowledge of, for example, the location of each CCV camera might enable a bad actor to exploit vulnerabilities in the system."

Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger earlier this month wrote a memo to his colleagues calling Carlson's claims that Capitol Police had acted as "tour guides" for the rioters "outrageous and false," NPR reported, insisting that officers were using "de-escalation tactics" on the enraged supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Manger also took issue with Carlson's claims that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick's death was unrelated to the riots, saying, "Had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day."

Manger asserted Carlson had "cherry picked from the calmer moments" during his show.