House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) did an about-face so hard this week, it’s surprising he’s not in a neck brace. His very brief attempt at bravery reverted immediately back to Trump-shilling the moment the ex-president’s supporters turned on him, despite threats to his and his colleague’s lives.
“McCarthy recently made statements regarding Jan 6 suggesting, based on an anonymous report, that the DOJ concluded that Trump did not cause, incite, or provoke violence … It's been made clear to us that reports of such a conclusion are baseless." – Thompson and Cheney, today
— Duty To Warn 🔉 (@duty2warn) September 4, 2021
After saying on Jan. 6 following the now infamous insurrection in which Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building with zip ties and bear spray in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden as the nation’s 46th president that Trump absolutely “bears responsibility” for the attack, he insisted this week that the FBI has cleared Trump of any responsibility. That, however, is far from the truth, and criticism has been swift.
According to Yahoo! News:
‘In an interview with KGET on Thursday, McCarthy said the FBI and bipartisan Senate committees have investigated Trump’s alleged role in the incident and “have found there’s no involvement.” But Thompson and Cheney, the latter of whom has been exchanging barbs with McCarthy in public throughout the last few months, said that the congressman was basing his comments off an “anonymous report,” which they found to be baseless after reaching out to executive branch agencies and other congressional committees.’
JUST IN: @January6thCmte Chair/Vice Chair Thompson and Cheney issue statement refuting claims that the DOJ has cleared Donald Trump of any role in the insurrection.
“..it’s been made clear to us that reports of such a conclusion are baseless.” pic.twitter.com/RH7BHtv2mw
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) September 4, 2021
His comments come after very briefly telling the truth following the attack on Jan. 6 when he made public statements on the floor of the House saying Trump was, at least partially, responsible for the riot.
According to POLITICO, McCarthy said:
‘The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action by President Trump.’
CNN's Jamie Gangel: Kevin McCarthy 'Very Concerned' Jan 6. Commission Could Force Him to Testify About Call With Trump During Riot https://t.co/MnRUy7BV8N I BET!
— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) May 5, 2021
In fact, the FBI has not cleared Trump and the investigation discussed by Rep. Cheney and Rep. Kinzinger, who sit on the committee investigating the attack, cleared up any confusion. There was no absolution for Trump’s responsibility for the attack in any FBI report.
According to CNN:
‘The committee [is]Â making it clear that Trump has not been cleared of any wrongdoing related to January 6 gives a clear indication that the former President and his allies remain a focal point in their investigation.
‘”We will continue to pursue all elements of this investigation in a nonpartisan and thorough manner. We also remind Minority Leader McCarthy of his statements following January 6th, including his statement from the House Floor on January 13th—which are inconsistent with his recent comments,” the committee’s Saturday statement continued.’
The Jan. 6 Select Committee is set to request telecommunications companies preserve the phone records of a group of Republican members of Congress and Trump, as well as members of the Trump family, who played some role in the 'Stop the Steal' rally.https://t.co/fm7SfTWvXa
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 30, 2021
