United States President Donald Trump (R) speaks as he is joined by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (L) in the White House Rose Garden on January 4, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump will meet with Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Thursday as the House minority leader weighs Republicans on the elected Congressional committee tasked with investigating the January 6 uprising in the U.S. Capitol.
Trump announced the meeting, which will be held at his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in a two-sentence statement that did not specify what would be on the agenda.
“Much to discuss!” Trump wrote.
McCarthy said he has not yet decided whether or not to join the panel approved last month by the House of Representatives that will investigate the attack on Congress by supporters of the former president.
Under the rules establishing the commission, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, can appoint eight members and McCarthy can appoint five. Pelosi announced their selection last week, which included Wyoming GOP Representative Liz Cheney, one of the two Republicans who voted for the panel’s approval.
McCarthy on Tuesday criticized the selection of Pelosi, which included two of the key lawmakers behind Trump’s two impeachments in the House of Representatives, Jamie Raskin, D-Md. and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
“Winning Adam Schiff and Raskin on it looks more like an impeachment committee than one looking to get to the bottom of unanswered questions,” McCarthy told Fox News.
McCarthy added, “I haven’t made a decision, not even on the appointment.”
“I’m discussing it with my members. I have real concerns about the scope of what we’re looking at,” McCarthy said.
A McCarthy spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
An adviser to McCarthy told NBC News that the GOP leader and president would be discussing Republican fundraising, the upcoming special and 2022 midterm elections.
McCarthy is expected to go to the White House on Thursday to attend a dinner hosted by President Joe Biden for Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Pelosi has his right of veto on all decisions McCarthy makes. On Wednesday, the panel announced that it would hold its first hearing on July 27th.
Trump has gone out of his way to tell the story of the January 6 uprising that injured more than 100 police officers and killed five people, including a protester, Ashli Babbitt, who was shot while apparently trying to close the House of Representatives infiltrate a broken window.
More than 500 people allegedly involved in the uprising have already been arrested in connection with an investigation that, according to the Justice Department, is unprecedented in its complexity.
In a speech in Fox News on Sunday, Trump described the uprising as peaceful.
“They were peaceful people, they were great people,” he said to host Maria Bartiromo. “The crowd was amazing and I mentioned the word love, love in the air, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Trump also criticized law enforcement for Babbitt’s murder, saying he wanted the public to know the identity of the officer who shot her.
“Who is the person who shot an innocent, wonderful, incredible woman, a military woman, right in the head?” said Trump. “There is no impact – that would be on the other hand, it would be the greatest story in this country. Who shot Ashli Babbitt? People want to know and why.”
The Justice Department has announced that it will not bring charges against the officer who killed Babbitt due to the lack of evidence to support a criminal charge. The name of the officer was not disclosed.
It is noteworthy that McCarthy and Trump were on the phone on Jan. 6, although the siege of Congress was still ongoing. McCarthy said he was the first to contact the then president about what happened.
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On the phone call, McCarthy urged Trump to call off the riot, according to a statement released by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., During Trump’s second impeachment trial. In response, “Trump reiterated the falsehood that Antifa had breached the Capitol,” the statement said.
“McCarthy refuted that and told the president that they were Trump supporters. At that point, according to McCarthy, the president said, ‘Well, Kevin, I think these people are more angry about the election than you are,” the statement said.
Herrera Beutler was one of ten Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted for Trump’s impeachment.
McCarthy has suggested telling investigators about the phone call.
Correction: Representative Adam Schiff, D-Calif. was a key lawmaker behind Trump’s two House impeachments. An earlier version incorrectly stated its status.
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