The Jan. 6 panel requests voluntary testimony from the top House Republican
The Democratic-led Jan. 6 select committee has requested that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., voluntarily provide information about events leading up to, during and after the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of pro-Trump supporters a little over a year ago.
In a letter requesting McCarthy's cooperation, panel Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said it is probing any conversations the House leader had with former President Donald Trump on the day of the insurrection.
Updated January 12, 2022 at 5:08 PM ET
"You have acknowledged speaking directly with the former President while the violence was underway on January 6th," said Thompson, before going on to reference McCarthy's Jan. 13, 2021, speech on the House floor, in which he said Trump "bears responsibility" for the attack.
McCarthy, a Trump ally, has since softened his stance on the former president.
On the eve of the vote in Trump's Senate impeachment trial last year, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., said that McCarthy had told her of a conversation he had with the then-president on Jan. 6 in which Trump appeared to side with the mob, allegedly telling the Republican leader that the rioters appeared "more upset about the election than you are."
The committee is also looking for information about Trump's decisions in the days following the attack.
"It appears that you had one or more conversations with the President during this period, including a conversation on or about January 11th," reads the letter, citing reporting. "It appears that you may also have discussed with President Trump the potential he would face a censure resolution, impeachment, or removal under the 25th Amendment. It also appears that you may have identified other possible options, including President Trump's immediate resignation from office."
Thompson also mentions reported communication between McCarthy and then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in the days leading up to the insurrection.
"We also must learn about how the President's plans for January 6th came together, and all the other ways he attempted to alter the results of the election," the letter reads. "For example, in advance of January 6th, you reportedly explained to Mark Meadows and the former President that objections to the certification of the electoral votes on January 6th 'was doomed to fail.' "
The committee has proposed meeting with McCarthy in early February.
McCarthy has not yet replied to the request, but has criticized the panel as a Democratic-led partisan exercise. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., denied some of McCarthy's nominees to the committee last year, leading the Republican to pull all of his picks.
McCarthy is the third sitting member of the House GOP the panel has sought voluntary testimony from, following Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Jim Jordan of Ohio. Both Perry and Jordan have rejected the requests. [Copyright 2022 NPR]
