Twenty million Americans tuned in June 9 as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol described how then-President Donald Trump fueled the mob with bogus claims of a stolen election.
The audience watching Fox News got a different story from its hosts: a litany of conspiracy theories from Tucker Carlson and a defense of Trump by Sean Hannity.
Hannity repeatedly claimed that Trump authorized 20,000 National Guard troops for the Capitol before the riot, and that the former president’s efforts to secure the building were thwarted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
"If Donald Trump authorized up to 20,000 National Guard troops to protect the Capitol, how does it make sense that they are there on national television blaming Donald Trump for wanting to start an insurrection?" Hannity said on his June 9 show. He repeated the claim several times in the hour, often blaming Pelosi and Schumer, and again the following night.
Trump similarly claimed on June 9 that he "offered up to 20,000 National Guard" prior to the event and that "crazy Nancy Pelosi turned down the offer."
There was no evidence to support such a claim in February 2021, when Trump said on Fox News that he had requested 10,000 National Guard troops but was rebuffed by Pelosi.
There’s still no record of any such authorization being made, or of Pelosi standing in the way. The D.C. National Guard reports "solely to the...
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