The chairman is not pushing for the release of video showing victims or footage of violence, per this source.
Rep. Dustin Burrows, the committee chairman, is prohibited from releasing the 77-minute “hallway” video of the law enforcement response because he signed a non-disclosure agreement with Texas Department of Public Safety, Burrows disclosed on Twitter on Friday.
Burrows attached two letters to his tweet. In one letter, he asked the DPS for permission to release the video to the public. The other letter is a response from DPS saying that the agency agrees that the video will bring “clarity to the public regarding the tragic events in Uvalde,” but that the Uvalde district attorney “has objected to releasing the video.”
Burrow’s tweet states that the video he is pushing to release “contains no imagery of victims or footage of violence.”
McLaughlin took issue with the first part of the report, which said a Uvalde police officer with a rifle spotted the gunman outside the school, but a supervisor either did not hear the officer or responded too late when the officer asked for permission to fire.
“No Uvalde police department officer saw the shooter on May 24 prior to him entering the school,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “No Uvalde police officers had any opportunity to take a shot at the gunman.”
CNN reached out to Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee on Friday and on Sunday asking her to comment on why she objects to the release of the video, but has not heard back.
The next Texas House Investigative Committee hearing is scheduled for Monday, July 11, at 9 a.m. CT in Austin.
The full witness list for the hearing has not been released. But Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco told CNN on Sunday he plans to testify Monday. Nolasco said his testimony will be through video-conference, not in person.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) created the three-member committee last month. Burrows, a Republican, was appointed chairman; Rep. Joe Moody (D) was appointed vice chair; and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman is a member.
The purpose of the investigative committee is a fact-finding one. Two other House committees, Youth Health & Safety and Homeland Security & Public Safety, will be tasked with making legislative recommendations.
