[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S659-S660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                FOX News

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night, millions of Americans tuned 
into one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen on cable 
television. With contempt for the facts, disregard of the risks, and 
knowing full well he was lying--lying--to his audience, FOX News host 
Tucker Carlson ran a lengthy segment last night arguing the January 6 
Capitol attack was not a violent insurrection.
  By diving deep into the waters of conspiracy and cherry-picking from 
thousands of hours of security footage, Mr. Carlson told the bald-faced 
lie that the Capitol attack--which we all saw with our own eyes--was 
somehow not an attack at all. He tried to argue it was nothing more 
than a peaceful sightseeing tour--can you imagine--a nonviolent 
demonstration, a perfectly fine and appropriate instance of people 
expressing their opinion.
  I and so many others who were here in the Capitol and millions and 
millions of Americans are just furious with Tucker Carlson and Kevin 
McCarthy today.
  Many of my staff were here at the Capitol on January 6. Their lives 
were put in danger, as were the lives of many of my colleagues, as well 
as police, maintenance staff, reporters, countless others.
  At one point, I was within 30 feet of the rioters. One of them, I was 
told, shouted out ``let's get him'' before my detail pulled me away and 
we ran in the other direction.
  To say January 6 was not violent is a lie--a lie, pure and simple. I 
don't think I have ever seen a prime time cable news anchor manipulate 
his viewers the way Mr. Carlson did last night. I don't think I have 
ever seen an anchor treat the American people and American democracy 
with such disdain.
  And he is going to come back tonight with another segment. FOX News 
should tell him not to.
  FOX News, Rupert Murdoch, tell Carlson not to run a second segment of 
lies. You know it is a lie. He has admitted it is a lie.
  And Speaker McCarthy is every bit as culpable as Mr. Carlson. Speaker 
McCarthy's decision to share security footage with FOX looked like a 
mistake from the very beginning. But after last night, it looks like a 
disaster. Speaker McCarthy has played a treacherous game by catering to 
the

[[Page S660]]

hard right. He has enabled the Big Lie and has further eroded away at 
our precious democracy. When people don't believe elections are on the 
level, that is the beginning of the end of this bold experiment in 
democracy that has gone on for more than 200 years.
  It is all the more shameful because Speaker McCarthy knows precisely 
what kind of customer Mr. Carlson is. He is not surprised by this 
outcome. What a low point for Speaker McCarthy. What a low point for 
FOX News.
  As reporting on the Dominion lawsuit shows, Mr. Carlson had no 
problem admitting behind the scenes that the Big Lie is pure garbage. 
When Sydney Powell went on the air to push the stolen election 
narrative, Mr. Carlson told fellow anchor Laura Ingraham that ``Sydney 
Powell is lying''--his words by the deposition. Mr. Carlson's own 
producer texted him that ``I don't think there is evidence of voter 
fraud that swung the election.''
  They know. They know full well they have been lying, and they are 
doing it anyway. We all, Americans of all types and stripes and corners 
of this country--Democrats, Republicans, Independents--need to take a 
stand and call out Mr. Carlson's conduct for what it is: a dangerous, 
unforgivable attempt to destabilize our democracy and rewrite the 
history of the worst attack on our Constitution since the Civil War.
  It is an insult to every police officer who was on the scene that 
terrible, fearful day. It is an insult to the memory of every single 
person who perished in connection with the attack, especially to the 
memory of Brian Sicknick.
  Nonviolent? Ask the Sicknick family. It makes me sick just thinking 
about what his family must be going through this morning.
  And it is an insult to everyone who cares about our democracy and 
wishes to preserve the dream of our Founders in our day, in our age. I 
hope every Member of this Chamber will call out FOX and Mr. Carlson for 
defending the insurrectionists.
  And, again, I am disappointed and angered in Speaker McCarthy's 
decision to share sensitive security footage with Mr. Carlson. Speaker 
McCarthy was here that day. He knows what actually happened. His staff 
and members suffered like everyone else, but he chose cheap political 
expediency over truth and preservation of democracy.
  I condemn Mr. Carlson for siding with the enemies of democracy. I 
strongly condemn Speaker McCarthy's actions and fiercely oppose his 
decision to share this footage with Carlson. I urge FOX News to order 
Carlson to cease propagating the Big Lie on his network and to level 
with their viewers about the truth--the truth--behind the efforts to 
mislead the public. Conduct like theirs is just asking for another 
January 6 to happen.