Apr 22, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Leaked audio: McCarthy said Trump "told me he does have some responsibility"

Erin Doherty

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks to reporters during his weekly news conference in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on March 18, 2022 — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) talks to reporters n March 18. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told GOP lawmakers in the days after the Capitol riot that former President Trump acknowledged he had "some responsibility for what happened," according to audio released Friday by two New York Times reporters.

Driving the news: "He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened and he needs to acknowledge that," McCarthy said on Jan. 11, 2021, during a House Republican conference call, per the audio released to CNN.

The reporters, Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, are set to publish a book, "This Will Not Pass," out May 3.
McCarthy also said during the conference call: "But let me be very clear to all of you and I've been very clear to the president: He bears responsibility for his words and actions. No ifs, ands or buts."

The big picture: Politico previously reported, on Jan. 11, 2021, that McCarthy said Trump bears some responsibility for the attack, but this is the first known time audio from the meeting has been leaked.

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Leaked audio: McCarthy said Trump "told me he does have some responsibility"

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