An audio recording released Thursday confirmed that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow Republican leaders that he was “seriously thinking” of recommending that former President Trump resign as a result. January 6 attack on the Capitol. The recording, which was made during a Republican House leadership meeting last year, was released just hours after McCarthy denied the episode in a statement.
At the Jan. 10 meeting, Wyoming MP Liz Cheney – who was chairing the Republican conference at the time – asked McCarthy if there was any chance Trump would resign.
“My instinct tells me no. I’m seriously thinking about having this conversation with him tonight. I haven’t spoken in a couple of days,” McCarthy says.
The audio was published by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, who detailed an account of the meeting in a story published Thursday and adapted from their book, “This Will Not Pass.”
In the recording, McCarthy continues to tell his leadership team that the impeachment resolution that Democrats are drafting would go to the House and that he believes could also be approved by the Senate.
“The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this is going to happen, and it would be my recommendation that you resign,” McCarthy says. “That would be my opinion, but I don’t think I would take it, but I don’t know.”
Brochure / Save America
He also mentions that he has a “personal fear” of entering into any conversation about “Pence’s pardon” and acknowledges that he had discussions about the 25th Amendment, which dictates how the president could be removed from office.
According to the Times, but not in the audio posted Thursday night, McCarthy told other Republican leaders, “I’ve had this guy.” He also told other Republican colleagues in the House that Trump’s behavior on the day of the attack was “atrocious and utterly wrong.” He blamed Trump for the riots on the Capitol, and with a resolution to impeach the Democrats on the horizon, he planned to tell the former president to resign.
“What he did is unacceptable. No one can defend him and no one should defend him,” he told the Times.
In a statement after the Times published the story on Thursday, McCarthy called the report “totally false and incorrect.”
“It is not surprising that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything possible to promote a liberal agenda,” he wrote. “This promotional book tour is no different. If journalists were interested in the truth, why would they ask for a comment after printing the book?”
He went on to accuse the “corporate media” of trying to take advantage of “political intrigue fabricated from sources of political motivation.”
McCarthy’s office did not return a request for comment Thursday evening.
Some of McCarthy’s frustrations with the president were publicly expressed. On January 13, he delivered a speech in the House stating that “the president is responsible for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mafia rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mafia when he saw the which was developing “.
But later that month, he tried to mend his relationship with the former president, who still had a huge influence on the GOP base. He visited Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago and took pictures with him.
Shortly after the audio was released Thursday night, Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger said the minority leader should be “embarrassed.”
“Question for Kevin McCarthy, @GOPLeader … how can you honestly feel in agreement with the lies?” Kinzinger he tweeted.
The Times also reported that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told his advisers after the Capitol attack: “If this is not attributable, I don’t know what it is,” he said. of dismissal. He also predicted that there would be a strong bipartisan vote to condemn the Senate. Ultimately, only seven Republicans in the Senate voted to condemn Trump during his impeachment trial, while others who criticized his behavior, including McConnell, argued that it was unconstitutional to remove a former president.
A McConnell spokesman did not return a request for comment.
Jack Turman and Nikole Killion contributed to this story
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