In an audio recording received by the Times and first broadcast on MSNBC on Thursday night, McCarthy answered a question from Liz Cheney, then a Republican leader, about whether there was any chance of Trump resigning. McCarthy says, “Staleness tells me no. I’m seriously thinking of having this conversation with him tonight.”
“The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and my recommendation is for him to resign,” McCarthy said, referring to the impeachment resolution in the House. “That would be my opinion, but I don’t think he would accept it. But I don’t know.” CNN received only part of the audio.
CNN turned to McCarthy and Cheney’s offices for comment.
McCarthy issued a long statement earlier Thursday before the audio was released, saying the Times report was “completely false and erroneous.” The report is part of an upcoming book by Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin, “It Won’t Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future.”
“The New York Times that reports on me is completely false and erroneous. It’s no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything possible to promote a liberal agenda,” McCarthy said. “This tour of the promotional book is no different. If reporters were interested in the truth, why would they want a comment after the book was published?
Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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