(Washington) Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday declined an invitation to testify before the parliamentary committee seeking to shed light on Donald Trump’s role in the attack on Capitol Hill.
Posted at 6:09 p.m.
Updated at 9:14 p.m.
The commission “wants to hear from me about public statements already shared with the rest of the world and private conversations having nothing to do with violence on Capitol Hill.” I have nothing to add, ”he said in a statement.
“I have decided without regret or satisfaction not to participate in the abuse of power (committed by) this commission,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday, the chairman of the commission Bennie Thompson had offered him “a meeting on February 3 or 4” to discuss in particular his “conversations with President Trump before, during and after the violent attack of January 6” 2021.
“You acknowledged having spoken directly with the former president while the violence was in progress”, which would allow “his state of mind” to be known at that time, noted the elected Democrat in his letter published on the commission site.
This seeks to establish the responsibility of Donald Trump and his entourage in the assault on the seat of Congress by several hundred of his supporters, when elected officials certified the victory of his rival Joe Biden in the presidential election.
Just after the attack, the violence of which shocked the whole world, Kevin McCarthy criticized Donald Trump who had scalded the minds of his voters with unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud for several weeks and until the minutes before their coup. .
But, like the vast majority of Republicans, the elected member of the House has since followed in the wake of the former president who retains a strong hold on his party and his voters.
His grip is such that none of his relatives or former allies has so far agreed to testify before the commission, even in the event of a subpoena.
The latter still interviewed more than 300 people, behind closed doors, and is moving forward in the hope of publishing its conclusions before the midterm elections in November 2022. If the Democrats lose control of the House during the ballot, it risks being dissolved by the Republicans.