Tucker and Trump’s problematic new love affair with the ‘QAnon Shaman’

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The attorney who represented Jacob Chansley, the infamous “QAnon Shaman” who left a threatening note on then-Vice President Mike Pence’s desk after breaking into the Senate chamber during the January 6 riot, is now claiming his former client’s rights were violated because he never saw surveillance footage Fox News host Tucker Carlson was given access to by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Defence lawyer Albert Watkins on Wednesday appeared on Carlson’s show to accuse the government of withholding evidence because his client was never provided the footage of Chansley, in his bizarre horned getup, seemingly walking peacefully near several members of US Capitol Police inside the Capitol complex. The attorney’s appearance came on the second night of Carlson’s latest effort to spread disinformation about the riot, the product of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to supply him with access to hours upon hours of surveillance footage from the day of the attack, while not allowing other journalists the same access; as a result, Carlson’s producers have been able to present selective clips of the attack and cut them together in the hopes of making Americans forget about the scenes of shocking violence already released by the January 6 committee last year. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly added that he “associate myself entirely with the opinion of the Chief of the Capitol Police about what happened on January 6th.” But understanding Carlson’s efforts remains important.