House Jan. 6 committee requests interview with Republican leader Kevin McCarthy
The panel said they want information about McCarthy's communications with Mark Meadows before Jan. 6
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol sent a letter Wednesday requesting a voluntary interview with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the committee, wrote in the letter that the Democrat-led panel is seeking information regarding his communications with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, as well as insight into President Trump's mindset preceding and during the riot.
"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," Thompson wrote. "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.’"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., arrive for the first House select committee hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 27, 2021. (AP Photo/ Andrew Harnik, Pool)
The committee also expressed interest in information regarding conversations that McCarthy had with Trump in the wake of Jan. 6, one of which was reportedly heated.
"It appears that you had one or more conversations with the President during this period, including a conversation on or about January 11th," Thompson also wrote. "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."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Republican members criticize President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the close of the war in Afghanistan, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
McCarthy is the third Republican member of Congress to be asked by the committee to voluntarily provide interviews and information regarding Jan. 6. In December, the committee reached out for the cooperation of Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Scott Perry, R-Pa., both of whom declined the request.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REPUBLICAN REP. SCOTT PERRY REFUSES INTERVIEW WITH JAN. 6 COMMITTEE CLAIMING IT IS ‘ILLEGITIMATE’
On Sunday, Jordan sent an extensive letter to Thompson excoriating the Democrats for using the committee as "a partisan cudgel against their political adversaries and not to advance any legislative purpose."
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks to the press in the Rayburn House Office building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, June 4, 2021. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I have no confidence that the Select Committee will fairly or accurately represent any information I could provide," Jordan also said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The committee now faces a decision regarding their willingness to issue subpoenas to lawmakers to get testimony.
In December, the committee voted 9-0 to recommend Meadows for prosecution for criminal contempt of Congress after he refused to testify before the panel.
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In November, a federal grand jury charged former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon with two counts of contempt of Congress. Bannon was charged after failing to appear for a deposition in front of the Jan. 6 committee, as well as for not handing over requested documents in the face of the committee’s subpoena, according to the Justice Department.
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.