Spotlight turns to GOP's McCarthy in Jan. 6 probe
By Mike Lillis and Scott Wong - 09/06/21 04:27 PM EDT
The public spotlight around the investigation into the Capitol attack of Jan. 6 has shifted squarely onto Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), the GOP leader who has emerged as the face of defiant opposition to the congressional probe into the deadly riot.
McCarthy has long been a figure of interest to the select committee given his phone call with then-President Trump amid the insurrection, in which the president allegedly suggested the pro-Trump rioters were more patriotic than the lawmakers under siege. McCarthy has acknowledged the call occurred but has repeatedly declined to discuss specific details.
The focus on his role, and any involvement from other Republicans, has only intensified over the last week, when McCarthy took the remarkable step of threatening the nation's tech and telecom giants with unnamed repercussions if they comply with the investigators’ request to retain the phone and social media records of GOP lawmakers who actively supported the effort to block President Biden's electoral victory.
"If companies still choose to violate federal law, a Republican majority will not forget and will stand with Americans to hold them fully accountable under the law," McCarthy warned.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/570830-spotlight-turns-to-mccarthy-in-jan-6-probe
