- The five subpoenaed include McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, Andy Biggs and and Mo Brooks.
- The panel said the group includes members who took part in White House meetings, talked to Trump.
- The Jan. 6 committee is preparing for public hearings in June.
WASHINGTON – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy headlined a list of five Republican lawmakers Thursday who are being summoned to testify before a special committee investigating the Capitol attack.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said McCarthy, along with Reps. Scott Perry, of Pennsylvania; Jim Jordan, of Ohio; Andy Biggs, of Arizona; and Mo Brooks of Alabama, were issued subpoenas after failing to voluntarily cooperate with the panel’s investigation.
“The Select Committee has learned that several of our colleagues have information relevant to our investigation into the attack on January 6th and the events leading up to it,” Thompson said. “Before we hold our hearings next month, we wished to provide members the opportunity to discuss these matters with the committee voluntarily. Regrettably, the individuals receiving subpoenas today have refused and we’re forced to take this step to help ensure the committee uncovers facts concerning January 6th.”
McCarthy has been at the center of a recent political firestorm after leaked audio tapes revealed he believed former President Donald Trump should have resigned in wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks.
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The leaked audio not only revealed how Republican leaders privately described the former president as unfit for office but also how they publicly kowtowed to him for the sake of their own political futures.
In its formal summons for McCarthy’s testimony, the committee said Thursday that McCarthy had been in communication with Trump “before, during, and after the attack on January 6th.”
“Mr. McCarthy was also in communication with other members of the White House staff during the attack and in the days before and after January 6th concerning the events at the Capitol. Mr. McCarthy also claimed to have had a discussion with the President in the immediate aftermath of the attack during which President Trump admitted some culpability for the attack.”
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