Kevin McCarthy may release Capitol security footage of Jan. 6

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may release the remaining security footage from the Capitol from the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

"I think the public should see what happened on that day. I watched what [then-House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi did, where she politicized it. For the first time in the history as a speaker, not allowing the minority to appoint to a committee," he said, according to the Washington Times. "We watched the politicization of this. I think the American public should actually see what happened instead of a report that's written on a political basis."

McCarthy did not commit to releasing the footage, saying he wanted "to be very thoughtful about it," but indicated his willingness to ultimately do so.

Release of the footage was one of the promises McCarthy made to his conservative detractors in order to win support to claim the speaker's gavel, according to Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of said detractors.

Some have estimated that there still exists up to 14,000 hours of footage that has not yet been made public. Gaetz told Turning Point USA that he thought the release of that material would "give more full context to that day, rather than the cherry-picked moments that the Jan. 6 committee tried to use to inflame and further divide our country."

In the last Congress, Democrats organized a select committee to investigate the incident, which included anti-Trump Republican Reps. Liz Cheney, Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, Ill, both of whom have since departed Congress. The final report of said committee largely pinned the blame for the incident on Trump, and Republicans widely maligned that effort as a partisan farce.

Many participants in the Capitol breach remain in federal custody and numerous court proceedings are ongoing.