When a person is arrested for drug possession, the amount possessed is taken into consideration. That’s because above a certain quantity level, it is presumed that the drugs in possession aren’t just for personal use — a large amount of contraband signals that there is an intent to distribute, for personal gain. That crime — intent to distribute — draws a stronger penalty. The dealer gets harder justice than the mere doer because dealing corrupts others, tempts them, feeds their habits or addictions, facilitates a crime.
When it comes to Jan 6 video, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson‘s dealer. And McCarthy’s intent to distribute doesn’t have to be presumed based on the sheer volume of what he had in his possession (tens of thousands of hours of video) because McCarthy admitted he sold — no, gave — the drugs — no, video footage — to Carlson.
.@LeaderMcConnell: “It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.” pic.twitter.com/JdUBaE6dvL
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 7, 2023
But if Carlson and FOX News misuse the video, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell now says they have, that’s on Carlson alone — at least, McCarthy gets a full pass from McConnell. McConnell said, “It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.”
But according to McConnell, the doer — the depicter — is who made the mistake; his dealer, McCarthy, shoulders no blame. McConnell rejected the opportunity to assign any blame to McCarthy on camera even as he roundly dismissed Carlson’s conjecture about what’s visible in the videos, and sided instead with the Capitol Police.
.@LeaderMcConnell: “It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.” pic.twitter.com/JdUBaE6dvL
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 7, 2023
“With regard to the presentation on Fox News last night,” McConnell says, “I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on January 6th.”
