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Leaked Audio Shows McCarthy Really Did Want Trump Out After Jan. 6 Riot

Earlier in the day, the House minority leader denied telling other Republicans he’d push Trump to resign.

The New York Times has obtained recordings of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) telling fellow Republican lawmakers in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots that he’d “had it” with former President Donald Trump and would push for him to resign from office. When the Times first reported on the private conservations—which are featured in a new book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future—McCarthy roundly denied he’d ever made such comments about Trump, calling the story “totally false and wrong” in a tweet. “McCarthy never said he’d call Trump to say he should resign,” his spokesman, Mark Bednar, told the Times. The recordings released Thursday evening prove otherwise. In a Jan. 8 phone call, McCarthy told several House Republicans that Trump’s behavior was “atrocious and totally wrong,” accusing the then-president of “inciting” his supporters to storm the Capitol. Two days later, McCarthy told Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) in another phone call about his intention to ask Trump to step down, telling him an impeachment resolution would pass. “I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign,” McCarthy said he’d tell Trump.