McCarthy: Trump Told Me He Has ‘Some Responsibility’ For The Capitol Insurrection

Remarks made by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are coming back to haunt him and failed, one-term former President Donald Trump, who allegedly told McCarthy that he does indeed bear “some responsibility” for the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection which left five people dead.

According to CNN:

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said publicly and privately in the days following the deadly riots at the US Capitol that President Donald Trump admitted personally bearing some responsibility for the attack — one of several reasons why the select committee on January 6 wants to hear from the House’s top Republican.

“I say he has responsibility,” McCarthy said on KERN, a local radio station in Bakersfield, California, on January 12 of last year. “He told me personally that he does have some responsibility. I think a lot of people do.”

McCarthy’s comments — as well as those made by Trump while speaking with the congressman — may indeed wind up as part of the evidence the Jan. 6 committee uses if and when they make criminal referrals to the Justice Department.

Could it be any clearer that McCarthy has repeatedly lied about conversations he had with Trump and others about the insurrection? The ex-president knows those conversations also took place, and that means he’s also in significant legal jeopardy and could easily be charged with seditious conspiracy, inciting a riot, and interfering with the official business of Congress.

So far, McCarthy has insisted he won’t cooperate with the committee, but a subpoena could change his mind, especially if he’s facing two years in prison for contempt of Congress:

On Thursday, McCarthy defended his decision not to cooperate with the select committee despite previously voicing support for a bipartisan commission and also saying he’d cooperate with any investigation. McCarthy said he made those comments before Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to “play politics” with the select committee by vetoing two picks, Rep. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks.

And even if McCarthy remains steadfast in his refusal to speak with the Jan. 6 panel, his previous utterances — such as the interview CNN just unearthed — can be used against both him and Trump in criminal proceedings.