Republicans demand Pelosi release footage proving that GOP Reps DID NOT give 'tours' to Jan 6 rioters

"GOP lawmakers gave tours to Trump supporters before riot," CNBC reported. "Police investigating whether lawmakers gave rioters tour of Capitol before Siege," The New York Times' headline read.

The Washington Post got more specific, saying first that a Democratic congresswoman said that "Lawmakers gave groups 'reconnaissance' tours of the Capitol one day before riots," and a few days later that it was Rep. Lauren Boebert who "gave Capitol tour to 'large' group before the riots."

Democrats demanded a "probe," with 34 of House Dems seeking an investigation. January 6 Committee Chair Bennie Thompson said that there was "evidence" that "sitting members of Congress gave tours to Capitol rioters the day before they stormed the building," reported the Daily Mail.

Republicans asked the Department of Justice for a briefing on these claims, and any evidence to back them up. This in April of 2021, three months after the Capitol riot, during which time the rumors were swirling, with Snopes providing, at least, that they were "unproven."

Now, more than a year after the protest at the Capitol, House Republicans have seen the surveillance video, and said outright that the Democrats claims are "baseless."

"Democrats have gone as far as to publicly accuse their Republican colleagues of organizing so-called 'reconnaissance' tours of the Capitol Complex in advance of January 6," writes Ranking Member Rodney Davis to House Speaker Pelosi.

"These claims are baseless. We have reviewed the security footage for the relevant period, and it does not support these wild accusations. We demand that you release this footage immediately so that the American people can see the truth and judge for themselves why Democrats are so willing to mislead about the events of January 6."

They assert that the 34 Democrats who demanded an investigation into "suspicious behavior" made the claims about "reconnaissance tours" without evidence. Davis asserts that in addition to the 34, there were another 100 Democrats, led by Rep. Jason Crow, "calling for an investigation, in part, into the role of Members in the January 6 violence."

"You also breathed life into these accusations," Davis wrote to Pelosi, "telling reporters in January 2021 that the allegations 'will be looked into' to determine if Members 'were accomplices to this insurrection.'" He notes that "Even now, House Democrats are continuing to parrot accusations that Republican Members led 'reconnaissance' tours of the Capitol."

But it's simply not the case, Davis writes. They want the tape released so that Americans, too, can see that the accusations were baseless.

"We have reviewed the security footage from the Capitol Complex during the relevant period preceding January 6, 2021, and we know it does not support these repeated Democrat accusations about so-called 'reconnaissance' tours," Davis writes.

"The only way for you to stop the spread of Democrat misinformation about January 6 'reconnaissance' tours is to release all of the relevant security footage.

"Because House Democrats released selective excerpts of this footage in conjunction with its impeachment effort last year, we know it is possible to release this footage without undermining law-enforcement procedures or processes.

"We call on you to release all of the footage immediately to set the record straight and allow the American people to judge for themselves the merits of these Democrat allegations."