Earlier today, the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol issued a letter to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy with the hope that he’d voluntarily participate in their investigation.
“We write to request your voluntary cooperation with our investigation on a range of critical topics, including your conversations with President Trump before, during and after the violent January 6th attack. You have acknowledged speaking directly with the former President while the violence was underway on January 6th,” the letter reads.
Hours later, Rep. Kevin McCarthy informed his colleagues, constituents and members of the media that he would not voluntarily participate in the investigation. In a statement, he characterized the work of the committee as “illegitimate.”
“This committee is not conducting a legitimate investigation as Speaker Pelosi took the unprecedented action of rejecting the Republican members I named to serve on the committee. It is not serving any legislative purpose. The committee’s only objective is to attempt to damage its political opponents – acting like the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee one day and the DOJ the next,” the statement reads.
“As a representative and the leader of the minority party, it is with neither regret nor satisfaction that I have concluded to not participate with this select committee’s abuse of power that stains this institution today and will harm it going forward.”
McCarthy is not the only Republican lawmaker to decline an invitation from the committee. Previously, Reps. Jim Jordan and Scott Perry also declined to voluntarily participate in the investigation. Moving forward, Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson plans to issue a similar invitation of former Vice President Mike Pence.
