House GOP rolls out ‘first come, first served’ access to Jan. 6 footage
Reese Gorman
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House Republicans released a policy on Friday regarding security footage from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that allows “first come, first served” access for qualified people.
Starting this month, according to guidance by the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, representatives of U.S. news outlets, defendants charged with crimes related to Jan. 6 and their counsels, and those who were physically harmed during the siege and their counsels will be allowed to view the Capitol security footage from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021.
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All viewers will have to leave cellphones and cameras near the door and agree not to record the footage from terminals.
For news outlets, terminals to view the footage will be made available on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. Only one three-hour time slot will be allowed per week.
Clips of the footage can also be made available to news outlets at the committee’s discretion, with requests evaluated on a tiered scale.
Category 1: “Clips will be released if the same or similar clips have already been made public by the federal government, news media, or documentary filmmakers.” Category 2: “Clips will be released if from a camera previously identified by [Capitol Police] as ‘non-sensitive’ and if they do not show footage that, in the determination of [committee] staff, would raise security concerns, such as footage showing officers defusing bombs or other tactical situations.” Category 3: “Clips will generally not be released if from a camera previously identified by Capitol Police as ‘sensitive.’”
Exceptions for Category 3 include “if such clips are also Category 1 clips, or in the determination of CHA staff, the public interest of the clips outweighs the security sensitivity of the clips.”
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Defendants charged with Jan. 6 crimes will be able to request any footage on the same terms if, upon reviewing the video, they contend that prosecutors did not make the footage they’re requesting available to them, there’s possibly exculpatory information in the footage they’re requesting, and if the purpose of the footage is for their or their client’s defense.
“House Republicans are continuing to deliver on our promise to bring transparency and accountability to the People’s House by increasing access to security footage of the U.S. Capitol from January 5th and 6th, 2021,” subcommittee Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) said in a statement. “This announcement stands in stark contrast to the previous Democrat leadership, who blocked access to the footage and only showed carefully edited clips to the public.”
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