Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has refused to cooperate with the Democrats’ anti-Trump House Select Committee “investigating” the Jan. 6 riot.
McCarthy warns that said Select Committee “is not conducting a legitimate investigation.”
He revealed that the Committee members want to grill him about “private conversations not remotely related to the violence that unfolded at the Capitol.”
“This committee is not conducting a legitimate investigation as Speaker Pelosi took the unprecedented action of rejecting the Republican members I named to serve on the committee,” McCarthy said.
“It is not serving any legislative purpose.
“The committee’s only objective is to attempt to damage its political opponents – acting like the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee one day and the DOJ the next.
“The committee has demanded testimony from staffers who applied for First Amendment permits.
“It has subpoenaed the call records of private citizens and their financial records from banks while demanding secrecy not supported by law.
“It has lied about the contents of documents it has received. It has held individuals in contempt of Congress for exercising their Constitutional right to avail themselves of judicial proceedings.
“And now it wants to interview me about public statements that have been shared with the world, and private conversations not remotely related to the violence that unfolded at the Capitol.
“I have nothing else to add.
“As a representative and the leader of the minority party, it is with neither regret nor satisfaction that I have concluded to not participate with this select committee’s abuse of power that stains this institution today and will harm it going forward.”
Pelosi’s select committee is illegitimate.
Read my statement here: https://t.co/UKVYoFmLMo
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) January 13, 2022
The Select Committee wrote to Kevin when asking for the interview:
“The Select Committee has contemporaneous text messages from multiple witnesses identifying significant concerns following January 6th held by White House staff and the President’s supporters regarding President Trump’s state of mind and his ongoing conduct.
“It appears that you had one or more conversations with the President during this period.
“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.
“Your public statements regarding January 6th have changed markedly since you met with Trump.
“At that meeting, or at any other time, did President Trump or his representatives discuss or suggest what you should say publicly, during the impeachment trial (if called as a witness), or in any later investigation about your conversations with him on January 6th?”
Liz Cheney doesn’t rule out issuing a Jan. 6 subpoena to Kevin McCarthy, and tells @morgan_rimmer: “I wish that he were a brave and honorable man. He’s clearly trying to cover up what happened. He has an obligation to come forward, and we’ll get to the truth.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 13, 2022
From The Hill:
He also slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for rejecting two of his nominees to the Jan. 6 committee last year — GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Jim Banks (Ind.) — writing that the panel is “not serving any legislative purpose.”
Pelosi rejected the two GOP picks in July after Democrats raised objections to the Trump allies being on the panel, citing concerns over “the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation.”
She later appointed Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), two GOP critics of Trump, to the committee.
