Former Jan. 6 Committee leaders Nancy Pelosi and Liz Cheney should apologize to the public for its disingenuous editing of Capitol surveillance footage, which tells a wholly different story as presented by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson this week.

That’s the view of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, whose fleet exit from the building that day appears to have been extracted and singled out for derision by the committee – when he was just one of many lawmakers being directed to evacuate.

Yet, in an exclusive interview with The Heartlander Thursday, Hawley says what the Jan. 6 committee did to him pales in comparison to what it did to mostly peaceful citizens upset about what they saw as a rigged presidential election.

“At a bare minimum, Nancy Pelosi and Liz Cheney ought to apologize to the American people for lying,” Hawley said. “This committee used taxpayer money to hire a TV producer to edit, splice and alter tape. In some instances, they inserted fake sound. 

“They spliced, they cut, they did false false voiceovers, they scrubbed off date-and-time stamps. This is really manipulating video, and they did it over and over again to create a false narrative. 

“It’s really extraordinary stuff – all with taxpayer money. I mean, you talk about manipulative, you talk about lying. That’s what these people did, and they should be exposed for it and held accountable.

“It was minor as to me; it was huge as to other people whose livelihoods were affected by this.”

But as for what the committee did in his case, Hawley says there’s no doubt footage of him was dishonestly edited.

“Oh, yeah, clearly. It was to create a lie. It was to create a totally fake narrative. Yeah, I mean, they altered the video. I mean, it has basically made the video fake.”

Leading D.C. Democrats, some Republicans – and, remarkably, even some in the media, who normally appreciate transparency in government – assailed Carlson, Fox News and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the release of some 40,000 hours of surveillance footage.

The Heartlander asked Hawley why any of his Republican colleagues – including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Mitt Romney, and Sen. Thom Tillis – would so vehemently oppose the video’s release.

“I have no earthly idea,” he said. “I’ve seen some of that, and I have to say I don’t get it. I just think that sunshine here is the best disinfectant.

“It is video footage from Capitol Hill security cameras. It’s not like the GOP created the footage. And once again, who collected it? The Jan. 6 committee. They’re the ones who collected all of it. 

“It’s just so rich. Now that the truth is coming out – now that people can actually see how the committee lied, how they edited, how they created false impressions – now all of a sudden Democrats and the national media are totally uninterested, and now talking about this anymore is a waste of time and a threat to democracy. It’s just absurd. 

“They’re being exposed for the liars that they are, and I welcome it.”

Hawley decries the way ordinary citizens were caricatured by the Jan. 6 committee “as a bunch of domestic terrorists” when, among other things, the released video actually shows officers calmly helping the conspicuously clad “QAnon Shaman” find his way into the Senate chambers.

That man, described by Carlson as Navy veteran Jacob Chansley, is now serving nearly four years in prison.

“Were there some people who were violent? Yeah, there were, and those people should be prosecuted,” Hawley notes. “And I’ve never changed my mind on that. But to smear everybody who was in D.C. on that day, everybody who protested, as some kind of a terrorist is just a lie.’

Regardless of the uproar, Hawley said it’s healthy that the surveillance video has been made public.

“I had not seen that footage before, and I think it’s great. I’m glad that (Carlson) is exposing it. I’m glad he’s putting it out there.

“Listen, we were told for two long years that everything the so-called committee did was so important – that it was the future of democracy, and all the evidence they collected was vital. And yet they concealed almost all of it. 

“So let’s put it out there. And I’d make it available to everybody. I hope Speaker McCarthy, now that Tucker has it, will just open-source it – you know, give it to anybody who wants it. Let the public see it.

“Let people decide for themselves. For those who say, well, ‘I don’t like what Tucker said,’ you know what? You go watch the video. Make up your own mind.”