In a private conference call involving Republican House members, House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) informed his colleagues in the days following last year’s attack on the Capitol that Trump “told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needs to acknowledge that” — which is, quite simply, a remarkable admission. This apparent admission by the former president that he was among those responsible for the events of January 6 might help establish that he had corrupt — and potentially criminal — intent in pushing his lies about the last election and demanding action over imaginary election fraud. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, spotlighted the seriousness of the issue to CBS. Schiff said:
‘I think it is very important that Kevin McCarthy has evidence the former president acknowledged bearing some responsibility for that attack on the Capitol. This is an admission of guilt by the former president.’
Rep. Adam Schiff to CBS News: "McCarthy has evidence the former President acknowledged bearing some responsibility for that attack on the Capitol. This is an admission of guilt by the former president."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 24, 2022
On a similar note, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) — another member of the riot panel — remarked: “The reports of what the president said, that he understood that he bore responsibility, that’s consciousness of his guilt. And it is an important element of piecing together all of the facts relative to January 6th.” In the time since the riot, Trump has stuck by his lies about the integrity of the last presidential election that inspired it. He’s also downplayed what happened and spoken of pardoning individuals who’ve been charged in connection to the riot in the event that he becomes president again. He’s yet to formally declare himself a candidate, but it seems likely that he’ll run again — Trump hasn’t withdrawn from the public spotlight, and in comments last year, he seemed to explicitly lay out that he wasn’t declaring his candidacy yet in order to avoid campaign finance requirements. Asked if he’d run again, he said: “Actually for me it’s an easy question… I mean, I know what I’m going to do, but we’re not supposed to be talking about it yet from the standpoint of campaign finance laws.”
"We have conducted more than 830 interviews and depositions… Those witnesses didn’t hide behind thin claims of executive privilege. Those witnesses followed the law. They did their patriotic duty.
Mr. Scavino and Mr. Navarro didn’t show up."
-Chair @BennieGThompson— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) April 7, 2022
In the meantime, the riot committee is pushing forward with its ambition to obtain answers regarding the circumstances surrounding January 6. Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) recently spoke of some of the startling pieces of evidence the panel had collected, including that then-Vice President Mike Pence refused to get in a waiting car apparently procured for him by Secret Service agents around the time of the Capitol violence. “I’m not getting in that car,” the then-VP apparently stated. Pence’s refusal suggests a sharp understanding on his part of the seriousness of what was unfolding. Pence, Raskin said, “knew exactly what this inside coup they had planned for was going to do.”
"We live in the greatest constitutional Republic in history. No citizen in our Republic can be a bystander. If we do not stand for our freedom and for our Constitution, we will lose them."
-Vice Chair @RepLizCheney— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) April 7, 2022
