Media Organizations File Lawsuit Against Justice Department for Access to Capitol Hill Riot Surveillance Tapes

Nine national media organizations, including CNN, have filed a lawsuit in the federal court in DC against the FBI and US Attorney’s Offices at the Justice Department for access to surveillance tapes of the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021. The tapes, which have been provided exclusively to Fox News, contain 44,000 hours of footage.

The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of nine media companies, including CNN, The New York Times, Politico, Advance Publications, The Associated Press, ProPublica, CBS, E.W. Scripps, and Gannett, argues that other media outlets should be given access to the tapes. The tapes were provided to Tucker Carlson’s producers at Fox.

The plaintiffs argue that they have diligently sought access to the tapes for the past two years, and that the denial of access is a stark change of pace. They argue that the tapes are of public interest and should be made available to all media outlets.

The Justice Department has yet to respond to the lawsuit. It is unclear when a decision will be made or if the tapes will be made available to the public. In the meantime, the media outlets are continuing to pursue access to the tapes.