[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           JANUARY 6 HEARINGS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, on FOX News and January 6.
  Tomorrow evening, the House Select Committee will hold its first 
public hearings on the insurrection of January 6. It will be a 
watershed moment for what has now been a 10-month investigation to 
uncover the truth of what happened on that terrible, terrible day in 
our Nation's history.
  The American people need to see January 6 for what it was--a 
deliberate, organized, and violent attempt to reverse a free and fair 
election. It was a profane and grotesque assault upon American 
democracy. Worst of all, it was part of a larger effort from the hard 
right to erode our constitutional order from within.
  Just a couple of days ago, someone was arrested who said he was 
within 20 feet of me and was trying to get me as we left this Chamber.
  These hearings will be essential viewing. They are a direct look into 
the dark soul of the hard right, and every single American needs to 
know the truth of what happened that day.
  Every major broadcast and cable network will cover these proceedings 
live--every network except one, that is: FOX News.
  In one of the most cowardly journalistic decisions in modern memory, 
FOX News, one of main amplifiers of the Big Lie about January 6 and 
about the election, has stated they will not broadcast Thursday's 
hearing.
  After giving the likes of Tucker Carlson a blank check to spread 
conspiracy theories and White supremacist views night after night, it 
is beyond repugnant that FOX News refuses to cover the investigation 
into the deadliest attack on our democracy in modern history.
  It is a disgusting and treacherous decision, one that will gravely 
harm our democracy, one that deliberately will conceal the truth from a 
large portion of the viewing public.
  Let me say it once again. FOX's decision not to air live proceedings 
on January 6 is cowardly and is tantamount to hiding the truth from the 
American people.
  FOX News has an obligation to report the facts of the January 6 
investigation so their viewers can learn the truth, especially after 
FOX News was one of the main propagators of so many of the Big Lies.
  Are they a real news station? They don't seem to be. I hope they 
reverse this awful decision.

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