Trump slams McCarthy over lack of GOP involvement on Jan. 6 committee
By Callie Patteson June 22, 2022
Former President Donald Trump has blasted a “very foolish” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — saying the lack of Republican participation was a “bad decision.”
The 45th president told conservative radio host Wayne Allyn Root on Sunday that McCarthy’s decision to shun the committee was not the right call.
“Unfortunately, a bad decision was made. This committee — it was a bad decision not to have representation on this committee. That was a very, very foolish decision,” Trump said, accusing the panel of conducting a “one-sided witch hunt.”
While there are two Republican members of Congress on the panel — Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — Trump has continuously accused them of being “RINOs,” or Republicans in name only, for failing to back his false claims of massive voter fraud.
“We have no representation on this panel,” Trump said earlier in the interview. “We should certainly have some Republicans, real Republicans … We have nobody on that panel who can fight back.”
“In a way, the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves.”
A representative for McCarthy did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The former president has not shied away from expressing his frustration privately, recently saying, “I don’t know why Kevin didn’t put anyone on the committee,” according to CNN, which cited a GOP source with direct knowledge of the comments.
Trump doubled down on his remarks Wednesday, telling Punchbowl News it “would have been good” if there were increased Republican representation on the committee.
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“Well, I think in retrospect, I think it would have been very smart to put [Republicans on the committee] and again, I wasn’t involved in it from a standpoint so I never looked at it too closely. But I think it would have been good if we had representation.” Trump said.
“I think in retrospect [McCarthy should’ve put Republicans on] to just have a voice. The Republicans don’t have a voice. They don’t even have anything to say,” he continued.
Trump suggested that Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio would have been good additions to the panel.
“But when [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi wrongfully didn’t allow them, we should’ve picked other people,” Trump said. “We have a lot of good people in the Republican Party.”
In July 2021, Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejected McCarthy’s Republican nominations to the Jan. 6 committee, citing concerns about statements Banks and Jordan had made in the past.
“With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” she said at the time.
https://nypost.com/2022/06/22/trump-slams-mccarthy-over-lack-of-gop-involvement-on-jan-6-committee/