Fox News, Newsmax, House Republicans jointly complain about teleprompters in January 6th hearing
10 June 2022
On Thursday evening, the bipartisanHouse Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol held its first of six televised hearings to share its findings with the American public and the world. The two-hour event contained eyewitness testimony and never-before-seen surveillance footage of the violent insurrection that was led by then-President Donald Trump.
It was aired commercial-free on all of the major media outlets, except for one, Fox News. But only four minutes after Committee Chair Benny Thompson (D-Mississippi) began delivering his opening remarks, pundit and ex-GOP Congressman Jason Chaffetz complained on Twitter about the panel's use of teleprompters.
Chaffetz tweeted that "I’ve never seen a committee use a Teleprompter, but then again this is a made for TV event and it is showtime."
That happened at the same time that Tucker Carlson was busy distracting his viewers with a manufactured tantrum about how unfair the Committee's work is and boasting that he "will not be carrying their propaganda live."
Sean Hannity, meanwhile, called it "the dullest, the most boring, there’s absolutely nothing new, multi-hour Democratic fundraiser masquerading as a January 6th hearing."
Chaffetz and his colleagues were predictably called out.
At 8:13 p.m., Newsmax host Greg Kelly asked a cryptic rhetorical question.
"Check it out --BENNY Is Reading from a TELEPROMPTER. Wow. PRIMETIME!!!!! (How much ?)," he wondered. It is unclear what he meant by that.
He certainly raised some digital eyebrows.
Three minutes later, at 8:16 p.m., the official House Republicans account posted the same grievance.
Feedback was not friendly.
At 8:52 p.m., the House Judiciary GOP dismissed the hearings as "All. Old. News."
At 9:36 p.m., it added, "still reading off teleprompter."
That too went over poorly.
Having notes or prepared remarks displayed on a screen is common in high-profile presentations, whether they take place in courtrooms, classrooms, conference rooms, or in this case, the halls of Congress. Teleprompters are frequently used by presidents, although Republicans have a history of disapproving of them when a Democrat is in the White House.
What was unusual, though, was Committee Co-Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) revealing that Representative Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania), along with several other as-yet-unnamed GOP members of Congress, sought pardons from Trump for their roles in his failed coup.
“As you will see, Representative Perry contacted the White House in the weeks after January 6th to seek a presidential pardon. Multiple other Republican congressmen also sought presidential pardons for their roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 election,” Cheney said in her introductory statement.
Perry referred to the Committee as a "Soviet-style show trial" on Thursday afternoon.
His office denied the body's allegation, calling it “laughable, ludicrous, and a thoroughly soulless lie" in a statement toThe Hill.
Watch the full hearing below: