Releasing the January 6th security footage has been bandied about by House Republicans. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) recently claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) intends to release the tapes, although journalist and activist Laura Loomer has expressed skepticism.
On Friday, conservative influencer Ryan Fournier said, "Speaker Johnson is moving forward with releasing all 40,000+ hours of J6 footage to The Blaze. Good move. But I’d support a large dump on an open-source website so we could all download the footage. It’s going to take AGES to review 40,000 hours of tape."
Speaker Johnson is moving forward with releasing all 40,000+ hours of J6 footage to The Blaze.
Good move. But I’d support a large dump on an open source website so we could all download the footage.
It’s going to take AGES to review 40,000 hours of tape.
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) November 3, 2023
Rep. Luna seemingly confirmed in a now-deleted reply, saying she could "confirm this is true and something is in the works." However, The Blaze's Steve Baker denied this, comparing the initial rumor to a game of telephone.
"No. @SpeakerJohnson is NOT turning over all 41,000 hours of Capitol CCTV J6 video to @theblaze. Remember the whisper game (or telephone game) when you were a kid? You whisper a phrase or a story to someone and then have everyone repeat the process, each passing the story they heard, whispering to everyone in the room. By the time the last person repeats the story aloud, it has morphed into something completely different from what was initially told," Baker tweeted.
No. @SpeakerJohnson is NOT turning over all 41,000 hours of Capitol CCTV J6 video to @theblaze.
Remember the whisper game (or telephone game) when you were a kid? You whisper a phrase or a story to someone and then have everyone repeat the process, each passing the story they…
— Steve Baker - TPC (@TPC4USA) November 4, 2023
Rep. Luna then gave clarity to her initial post: "I know for a fact that there WILL be footage released to public. I am going to personally push for it to be open source. As soon as I know more info I will let you all know."
In clarifying tweet below:
I know for a fact that there WILL be footage released to public. I am going to personally push for it to be open source. As soon as I know more info I will let you all know. https://t.co/LltK9Yqwta— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 4, 2023
Loomer, however, accused Luna of lying and being "irresponsible" by giving those imprisoned for January 6th "false hope."
That isn’t “clarifying”’@RepLuna.
This is called LYING. You replied to @RyanAFournier’s tweet (seen below) in which he said @SpeakerJohnson is definitely moving forward with releasing all 41,000 hours of the J6 CCTV footage to @theblaze.
You said “I can confirm this is true… https://t.co/zHdhz8i3u3 pic.twitter.com/a6T0PfmJcY
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 4, 2023
Nevertheless, Luna remained persistent, saying that "[Johnson]'s releasing footage. Hours are still being worked through. I clarified my tweet and confirmed this myself. You know @LauraLoomer it is possible to not jump to the worst conclusion."
He’s releasing footage. Hours are still being worked through. I clarified my tweet and confirmed this myself. You know @LauraLoomer it is possible to not jump to the worst conclusion. https://t.co/MhLxS7N4nW
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 4, 2023
Loomer continued to remain skeptical: "This is why I don’t trust any politicians. When I asked you why you voted for @GOPMajorityWhip Tom Emmer, you said "sometimes you have to trust us Laura." I don’t trust any politician or member of Congress because I am over the gaslighting. @SpeakerJohnson isn’t releasing the J6 tapes to @theblaze."
This is why I don’t trust any politicians.
When I asked you why you voted for @GOPMajorityWhip Tom Emmer, you said “sometimes you have to trust us Laura.”
I don’t trust any politician or member of Congress because I am over the gaslighting. @SpeakerJohnson isn’t releasing… https://t.co/zHdhz8i3u3 pic.twitter.com/fizK28EQnT
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 4, 2023
Luna replied that she spoke with Speaker Johnson and was "pushing for it to be open source."
I spoke to the speaker. He is working on releasing the tapes to the public and I am pushing for it to be open source… and I stand by what I said below. That’s a fact. https://t.co/WjuTiw7l5R
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 4, 2023
Luna gave further proof by reposting footage of her colleague Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) appearing on Fox and Friends Weekend saying the January 6th tapes are likely to be released:
"Boom. Here you go. Byron was there during the convo a few days ago. Told you. Jan 6 tapes are in the works. If I was in control of these, I’d release them ASAP but I am not. We will continue to push," said Luna.
Boom. Here you go. Byron was there during the convo a few days ago. Told you. Jan 6 tapes are in the works. If I was in control of these, I’d release them ASAP but I am not. We will continue to push. https://t.co/pLaSG7qmMV
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 5, 2023
On Sunday, Luna proposed an ultimatum to Loomer: "If I am right, I expect a full apology from you on this platform. Deal?
Laura, if I am right I expect a full apology from you on this platform. Deal? https://t.co/YKrSz3dOQy
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 5, 2023
