Well, Kevin, I think these people are more excited about the election than you are, Trump said, according to lawmakers who are aware of McCarthy’s appeal.
McCarthy insisted that the rioters were Trump supporters and called for their recall.
Trump’s comments qualify what Republican lawmakers familiar with the call described as a shouting match between the two men. An angry McCarthy told the then-president that rioters were coming through the windows of his office and asked Trump who do you think you’re talking to according to a Republican lawmaker familiar with the appeal.
The recently released details of the appeal, which several Republicans told CNN, offer critical insight into the president’s state of mind when the rebels took Capitol Hill. The existence of the appeal and some of its details were first reported in the Punchbowl News and publicly discussed by McCarthy.
Republican members of Congress said the exchange showed that Trump had no intention of ending the unrest, even as lawmakers implored him to intervene. Some say it was a neglect of his presidential duties.
He’s not a keen observer. He encouraged him, the Republican congressman said. The thirteenth. In January, Kevin McCarthy told the House that the president is responsible and that he does.
Speaking to the president from the besieged Capitol, McCarthy urged Trump to withdraw his supporters and engage in a spirited debate about the composition of the crowd. Trump’s comment that potential insurgents care more about election results than McCarthy’s was first mentioned at a public meeting earlier this week by Washington State Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler and confirmed on CNN by Herrera Beutler and other Republicans who were aware of the conversation.
You have to look at what he did during the riots to confirm where his head was, Herrera Beutler, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump last month, told CNN. That sentence there shows me that he either didn’t care, which is fine because you can’t condone an attack on his country, or that he wanted it to happen and was at peace with it, which pisses me off.
We should never tolerate this, for any reason, under any party banner, she added, expressing her extreme frustration. I try very hard not to say the F-word.
On Friday night, Herrera Beutler went a step further by asking others for any further details they may know about the conversations Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence had with Jan. 6.
To the patriots who supported the former president during those talks, or even the former vice president: If you have something to add, this is the time, she said in a statement.
Another Republican congressman said the conversation was problematic for Trump.
I think that reflects the spirit of the previous president, said Congressman Anthony Gonzalez, an Ohio Republican who also voted to remove Trump from office last month. He was not saddened to see his infallible and loyal Vice President or Congress attacked by the mob he inspired. He even seems to have enjoyed it, or at least scenes that most Americans across the country found horrifying.
As senators prepare to decide Trump’s fate, many Republicans felt that the details of the appeal were important to the proceedings because, in their view, they paint a damning picture of Trump’s lack of action during the attack. At least one source who spoke to CNN made detailed notes of the transcript of McCarthy’s conversation.
Trump and McCarthy did not respond to requests for comment.
It took hours after Trump launched his attack to finally encourage his supporters to return home peacefully, a tweet that came at the urging of his key aides.
During Trump’s trial on Friday, his lawyers argued that the former president was actually trying to calm the rebels through a series of tweets as the attack unfolded. But his lawyers selected his tweets and focused on his call to peacekeepers, not to mention that he also attacked Pence and waited hours to unequivocally ask the rebels to leave Capitol Hill.
A source close to Pence said Trump’s legal team was not telling the truth when lawyer Michael van der Veen said during the hearing that the then-president was in no way aware that his vice president was in danger.
When asked if Van der Veen had lied, the source replied: Yes. A former aide to Pence is still angry about Trump’s actions since the 6th. Janvier, who maintains that he never checked on the vice president when Pence was removed from office by his U.S. intelligence agencies.
It is unclear to what extent these new details were known to those in charge of the indictment process in the House of Representatives, and whether the team considered calling McCarthy as a witness. Leaders have reserved the right to call witnesses during the ongoing indictment process, although this remains unlikely given the outcome of the case.
The Republican House leader was preparing for a conference to discuss his talks with Trump on the 6th. The month of January and the following months will be described in detail.
Trump himself took no responsibility in public.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Jim Acosta and Gloria Borger contributed to this report.
