Rubio: Jan. 6 hearing is Dem ‘free documentary’ sponsored by mainstream media

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is criticizing the Jan. 6 committee’s public hearing set for prime-time Thursday as an unnecessary, “Hollywood-paid political advertisement.”

In an interview Wednesday with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Rubio said that most Americans won’t tune in to watch “this garbage” and that “people already know what happened” in the deadly Capitol riot last year.

“From day one, I have said that if people committed crimes on that day, they should be prosecuted and convicted by a jury. And that’s what’s happening,” he added.

When asked what the Jan. 6 hearing should examine, he said “it would be a review of why didn’t Capitol Police, the sergeant at arms take advantage of these resources that were available? That’s what you would be focused on. But they’re not going to be focused on that.”

According to Rubio, the House select committee probing the Capitol beach doesn’t constitute a real congressional hearing, but rather “a kangaroo court” and an infomercial for the Democrats’ political purposes.

He also took aim at the Jan. 6 panel’s hiring of a veteran ABC News producer to assist with assembling a package it will air Thursday night.

“They moved this thing to prime time. They hired a producer to put it on. This is not a fact-finding mission. This is a two-hour free documentary sponsored by virtually every major network in America — except for [Fox News] — that’s willing to give it airtime,” he said.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot plans to use its first prime-time hearing to put former President Trump at the center of the insurrection and the attempt to keep him in power.

Republicans have blasted the hearing and promised “counterprogramming” to push back on its narrative.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) told Fox News that she and her colleagues were “pushing back against lame-duck Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi’s sham political witch hunt.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.