Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted Fox News for treachery and cowardice and said that it seems like they aren’t real news.
Video of Schumer:
Schumer said on the Senate floor:
Tomorrow evening, the House Select Committee will hold its first public hearings on the insurrection of January 6th. It will be a watershed moment for what has now been a ten-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 6th 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 in 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 the main amplifiers of the Big Lie about January 6th 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 an 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 will deliberately conceal the truth from a large portion of the viewing public.
Let me say it once again: Fox News’ decision not to air live proceedings on January 6th 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 6th investigation so their viewers can learn the truth, especially after Fox News was one on 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.
The Decision Not To Show The Hearings Live Has Backfired On Fox News
Fox News has exposed itself as not being real news. The decision not to carry the hearings live, but instead banish the coverage to Fox Business has done more to blow up the news facade at Fox than any external investigation possibly could have.
The rest of the media and American political leaders need to change the way that they treat Fox.
Fox News should no longer be treated as a media organization, but they should be deemed political activism and not put into the same category as legitimate organizations.
The decision not to cover the hearings live has backfired and delegitimized Fox News.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
