Johnson says GOP staff is blurring participants’ faces in Jan. 6 tapes to protect them from DOJ

Johnson says GOP staff is blurring participants’ faces in Jan. 6 tapes to protect them from DOJ

Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that his plans to release all security footage from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have been delayed because Republicans are blurring faces to protect participants.

“We have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day, because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and be charged by the DOJ,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday, adding that he still wants to release those tapes “as quickly as we can.”

More than 1,200 people have been charged in the attack and more than 700 of those have pleaded guilty.

Johnson said not blurring the faces of those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 could cause them “other concerns and problems.” It is “a slow process,” he said, but additional staff have been hired to work on the alterations and ultimately release the 44,000 hours of footage.

“We want the American people to draw their own conclusions. I don’t think partisan elected officials in Washington should present a narrative and expect that it should be seen as the ultimate truth,” said Johnson.