In the audio recording, the California Republican repeatedly complained about the provocative comments made by some Republican lawmakers after the US Capitol attack – a far different position from his efforts to downplay the Republicans’ role in the uprising.
On January 10, 2021, McCarthy called on Republican leaders on a private call to monitor public statements by lawmakers, such as Mo Brooks of Alabama and Matt Geitz of Florida, and to warn him of any potentially dangerous reports.
“The country is too crazy,” McCarthy said, according to an audio report received by two New York Times reporters about their upcoming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future.
“I don’t want to look back and think we did something or missed something and someone got hurt. I don’t want to play politics with any of this. “
McCarthy did not answer questions from reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday about the New York Times report. Asked if he was worried it could hurt his chances of becoming president if Republicans win the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, he said no.
The Republican leader explicitly opposed a television interview Goetz gave, attacking Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming and other Republicans who criticized former President Donald Trump. “He puts people in danger,” McCarthy told Gaetz, according to the audio. “And he doesn’t need to do that. We saw what the people in the Capitol would do, you know, and these people came prepared with a rope, with everything else.
Steve Scaliz called Gaetz’s behavior “potentially illegal,” according to the Times. Scalis diverted questions about the New York Times report on Tuesday, blowing up “liberal media” reports on the uprising.
“I do not see what they mean. But it is not surprising that the liberal media want to keep talking about January 6 because they do not want to focus on all the crises that President Biden has created, from inflation to gas prices to the border, “he told reporters.
Gaetz told CNN he had not seen the Times story.
Brooks, in response to the report, told CNN in a statement that “Kevin McCarthy spoke before learning the facts.”
According to the audio recording, McCarthy became more aggravated when an inflammatory tweet from GOP spokesman Barry Moore from Alabama about the rebel Ashley Babbitt was read aloud during the conversation. “Can’t they take away their Twitter accounts?” McCarthy asked.
His comments mark the latest case of the damned conversation, which he held immediately after January 6, which came to light.
The California Republican is already facing criticism after some audio clips revealed conflicting statements he made about Trump.
In an audio clip, he is heard telling Republican leaders in the days after the uprising that he plans to advise Trump to resign, among other things. McCarthy has since defended his comments, saying he has considered potential scenarios for Trump’s fate after the uprising and has not supported any of them.
During a closed-door leadership meeting Tuesday night, McCarthy addressed the recent dispute, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN.
After joking about whether anyone was recording him, McCarthy explained to his leadership team and committee leaders that he had never asked Trump to resign and had not presented the idea to the conference.
“Don’t let things like this divide us. We need to stick together,” McCarthy said in a statement.
In another audio clip received and reported earlier by the Times, McCarthy told Republicans during a private conference call that Trump had admitted he had some responsibility for the attack.
This story was updated with additional information on Tuesday.
Melanie Zanona and Lauren Fox of CNN contributed to this report.
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