Just What 'Security Concerns' Do Democrats Have in Releasing J6 Video?

My PJ Media colleague Matt Margolis wrote on Friday about the release of 44,000 hours of security video footage from the January 6 riot. More than anything else, the footage shows that the Democrats' narrative about what happened in January 6 leaves a lot of information out. 

It showed that what the Democrats selectively released failed to reveal any exculpatory evidence or anything that contradicted their carefully crafted story. In 44,000 hours of video, there's going to be plenty of evidence that contradicts their narrative and almost certainly exculpatory evidence for some of the J6 defendants.

Democrats have accused Republicans of wanting to whitewash what happened on January 6. Indeed, Democrats also tried to whitewash events and overwrite their own story.

The problem is that what happened on January 6 was a riot. To attempt to bring some kind of order to what happened and craft a narrative explaining it, as well as organize 44,000 hours of video, the statements of hundreds of eyewitnesses including Capitol police officers, members of Congress, staffers, and the rioters themselves, is impossible. 

That Democrats tried the impossible speaks more to their partisanship than any honest attempt to find out what happened that day.

There were 140 police officers injured at the Capitol on January 6. It's doubtful they were all injured by undercover FBI agents or Capitol police. There was also $3 million in damage to the Capitol. Again, it's unlikely that all the damage was done entirely by cops and federal agents.

And let's not forget that the invasion of the Capitol, for any reason, is a crime against democracy and a serious breach of civic order. 

There must be great care taken not to simply flip the partisan script and selectively choose the video that "proves" anything about the rioters. Admittedly, it's hard to digest 44,000 hours of video. But if we're serious about flipping the narrative to what actually happened, an acknowledgment that what happened that day was illegal and dangerous to democracy must be forthcoming.

Otherwise, we're no different than the Democrats.

Is there cause for concern regarding the release of the videos? Democrats think so.

“It is unconscionable that one of Speaker Johnson’s first official acts as steward of the institution is to endanger his colleagues, staff, visitors, and our country by allowing virtually unfettered access to sensitive Capitol security footage,” said New York Democratic Rep. Joseph D. Morelle, ranking member of the House Administration Committee. “That he is doing so over the strenuous objections of the security professionals within the Capitol Police is outrageous. This is not transparency, this is dangerous and irresponsible.”

Hannah Muldavin, a senior adviser at the leftist Congressional Integrity Project and former spokesperson for the J6 select committee, got so excited that she forgot to call the effort to question the results of the 2020 election "illegal."

“Not only did Johnson vote against certifying the 2020 election, but he was a leader of the legal campaign to overturn it, and continues to be a danger to our democracy today. The January 6th Select Committee worked with US Capitol Police to ensure no sensitive material was released to the public — Johnson releasing the tapes does the exact opposite.”

How can the "legal effort" to overturn the election be a "danger to our democracy"? Go figure.

But she makes a valid point about security concerns with the release. The videos contain shots of sensitive security areas in the Capitol. And there's no effort to blur the faces of Capitol police officers or innocent protesters. It's something that Johnson should have addressed before releasing the video.

But caterwauling from Democrats about "security" is largely a distraction. Their real beef is that their carefully crafted story of January 6 has blown up and now everyone is going to be free to draw their own conclusions about the riot.