As the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot approaches, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is targeting the bipartisan committee investigating the insurrection and accusing them of dividing country.
“As we have said from the start, the actions of that day were lawless and as wrong as wrong can be. Our Capitol should never be compromised and those who broke the law deserve to face legal repercussions and full accountability,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to Republicans, according to The Hill.
“Unfortunately, one year later, the majority party seems no closer to answering the central question of how the Capitol was left so unprepared and what must be done to ensure it never happens again,” he added. “Instead, they are using it as a partisan political weapon to further divide our country.”
McCarthy helped Donald Trump raise doubts about the election in the days leading up to the pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol.
McCarthy has been of interest to the select committee investigating the riot over a phone call he had with Trump on Jan. 6 while his supporters were inside the Capitol. Trump allegedly told McCarthy on the call that the rioters cared more about the election than he did.
“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump said when McCarthy told him to call off his supporters.
McCarthy has refused to provide further details about the call and has threatened to use a Republican-controlled House to retaliate against tech and phone companies if they comply with the select committee’s request to turn over GOP lawmakers’ records.
