By Zoe Richards -
NBC News
Just days after the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told a colleague from his party that he would
recommend then-President Donald Trump resign,
according to audio from a call made public by the MSNBC network.
On the January 10, 2021 call, McCarthy can be heard telling Republican Rep. Liz Cheney that he planned to tell Trump he should resign after the violent attack.
McCarthy added that he thought
impeaching Trump would succeed
in the House and possibly the Senate.
[Do you want to decide the future of the United States, including whether immigration reform is finally approved?]
"The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will happen, and it would be my recommendation that he resign," McCarthy said in audio that aired on The Rachel Maddow Show.
The newspaper The New York Times released this Thursday the content of the call, which is included in the book
This will not pass: Trump, Biden and the battle for the future of the United States
, by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, which will be published on May 3.
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McCarthy called what the newspaper published "totally false and incorrect" in a statement on the social network Twitter, and the newspaper then shared the audio of the call with MSNBC.
In the conversation, Cheney can be heard asking McCarthy about the possibility of Trump resigning: “Are you hearing that I might resign?
Is there any reason to think that will happen?
McCarthy responds that he "had some discussions" and adds that he was going to call Trump that night, but that he doubted Trump would leave.
"But what I think I'm going to do is call him," says McCarthy.
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“Here's what I think: We know it will pass the House.
I think there is a chance that it will be approved by the Senate, even after he is gone,” McCarthy says of
impeachment
.
CNN released excerpts of audio obtained by The New York Times on Friday from a call McCarthy made with House Republicans on Jan. 11, 2021. McCarthy said he had spoken with Trump that day and
Trump agreed to part of the call.
responsibility for the January 6 attack
.
“I have been very clear with the president.
He is responsible for his words and actions.
No excuses or buts.
I asked him personally today if he feels responsible for what happened, if he feels bad about what happened.
He told me that he does have some responsibility for what happened, ”said the congressman.
Cheney's spokesman said in a statement that the Jan. 6 committee "asked McCarthy to speak to us about these events, but he has so far refused." "Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how they obtained it." reporters," he added.
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The revelations could complicate McCarthy's leadership if Republicans regain control of the House in November's midterm elections.
He is likely to need Trump's support to secure the lead if there is a Republican majority.
Three days after McCarthy's phone call with Cheney, the congressman said on the House floor that Trump "bears responsibility" for the "rioter attack on Congress" and "should have immediately denounced the attackers when he saw what they did." what was happening.”
[Biden criticizes the “defeated former president” for his role in the assault on Capitol Hill and celebrates that democracy “withstood” the attack]
He went on to say that Trump "needs to accept his share of the responsibility, quell the unrest that is brewing, and ensure that then President-elect Joe Biden is able to successfully begin his term."
But by the following week, McCarthy had changed course, telling reporters, "I don't think he provoked it, if we listen to what he said at the rally" before the Capitol storming.
Days later, McCarthy met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in an attempt to mend their relationship.