Tucker Carlson Doubles Down On 2020 Election Fraud Claims With Jan. 6 Footage Despite Fox Defamation Lawsuit

Topline

Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson continued to sow doubt in the 2020 election results Monday night despite a high-stakes defamation case over the network’s fraud claims—which court documents suggest Carlson knew were false—as he aired exclusive footage of the January 6 attack and used it to downplay the riots.

Key Facts

Carlson introduced the January 6 footage Monday, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gave him exclusively, by saying the rioters were “right” to believe “that the election they had just voted in had been unfairly conducted.”

He continued, saying “it is clear the 2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy,” adding, “No honest person can deny it.”

While Carlson has cast doubt on the 2020 election in the past, his new comments come as Fox News prepares to defend itself in a defamation case brought by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems, which alleges Fox anchors including Carlson repeatedly pushed election fraud claims despite knowing they were false.

The lawsuit, which was first filed in March 2021, has gained attention in recent weeks in light of new court filings with Fox anchors saying the fraud claims were false, including Carlson saying conspiracy theories involving Dominion machines were “insane” and “absurd” and it was “shockingly reckless” to be pushing them.

According to messages obtained by Dominion, Carlson also called former President Donald Trump “a demonic force, a destroyer” after the January 6 attack and said he had asked the Trump White House in November to “disavow” far-right attorney Sidney Powell, who pushed the Dominion claims.

Carlson’s comments also come after Democratic leaders in Congress wrote to Fox Corporation chair Rupert Murdoch and other Fox News executives last week, asking them to force Fox anchors, including Carlson, to publicly apologize for making false election claims, and specifically citing Carlson’s airing of the January 6 footage as a reason he should denounce the fraud allegations now.

Tangent

Carlson’s program Monday went on to downplay the January 6 attack and its violence, using footage he obtained to claim “the video record does not support the claim that January 6 was an insurrection” and likening the rioters to peaceful “sightseers.” Approximately 114 police officers are estimated to have been injured on January 6, according to the Government Accountability Office, and police officer Brian Sicknick died as a result of the riots in addition to several other deaths linked to the attack.

What To Watch For

Carlson says he will keep airing footage related to the January 6 riot after McCarthy gave the Fox host 41,000 hours of security tapes, which the lawmaker said will be released to the public as well. Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox News is set to go to trial in April, assuming a settlement or ruling is not reached before then, and the voting company is asking Fox to pay $1.6 billion in damages if the court finds they committed defamation. The company is also facing a second lawsuit from rival voting company Smartmatic. Fox has denied the claims against it, alleging the network was reporting newsworthy information and its statements about Dominion are protected under the First Amendment.

Key Background

Fox News hosts have repeatedly sowed doubt about the 2020 election and pushed claims on the network suggesting there was widespread election fraud, despite no evidence that’s true. Dominion’s defamation case alleges the network pushed the false claims knowing they were untrue as a way to boost ratings and avoid losing viewers to Newsmax and One America News, citing repeated comments from anchors and executives saying they “did not believe” the statements and people like Powell who pushed them were “nuts.” Murdoch testified to the court he also did not believe the election fraud claims and “would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight,” but he did not stop election deniers from appearing on Fox News. Murdoch also suggested the company was motivated by money in pushing the fraud allegations, agreeing their decision making was “not red or blue—it is green.” The court filings have drawn Trump’s ire, with the former president repeatedly denouncing Murdoch in recent days for saying he doesn’t believe there was election fraud and praising Fox hosts—like Carlson—who have pushed the allegations.

Further Reading

Tucker Carlson, with video provided by Speaker McCarthy, falsely depicts Jan. 6 riot as a peaceful gathering (NBC News)

‘Mind Blowingly Nuts’: Fox News Hosts And Execs Repeatedly Denounced 2020 Election Fraud Off-Air—Here Are Their Most Scathing Comments (Forbes)

Speaker McCarthy Gives Tucker Carlson 41,000 Hours Of Jan. 6 Footage (Forbes)

Fox Unlikely To Settle With Dominion Over Election Lies As High-Stakes Trial Nears, Experts Say (Forbes)

Murdoch Admits Fox News Hosts Pushed False Election Fraud Claims (Forbes)