U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney is denying accusations that she leaked audio featuring a top congressional Republican calling on former President Donald Trump to resign in the wake of the attack at the U.S. Capitol last year.
The audio was released on Thursday night and featured Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, venting his frustrations about the then-current president during a call with fellow Republicans. Cheney has denied knowledge of how the audio was leaked to reporters.
“The select committee (investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021) has asked Kevin McCarthy to speak with us about these events but he has so far declined,” a spokesman for Cheney said. “Rep. Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how the reporters got it.”
In the call, McCarthy revealed to his colleagues that Trump took “some responsibility” regarding the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Again, the only discussions I would have him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign,” he said. “I mean that would be my take, but I don’t think he would take it, but I don’t know.”
Cheney was one of the Republicans on the phone call with McCarthy at the time.
“I asked [Trump] personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened?” McCarthy said in the audio. “Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needs to acknowledge that.”
McCarthy also said that Trump bore responsibility for his words and actions leading up to the riot.
Cheney has regularly butted heads with both Trump and McCarthy in the year since the attack. She was one of the few Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment after the attack, claiming he incited the riot.
Cheney was ultimately removed from her position as House Conference chair last year by McCarthy in response to her impeachment vote.
McCarthy was called on by multiple Republican officials earlier this year to remove both Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, from the House Republican Conference due to their positions on the committee investigating the incident. He did not do so.
Cheney has also received much backlash from Republicans because of her appointment to the committee, ultimately being censured by the Republican National Committee earlier this year. The Wyoming Republican Party has voted to no longer recognize the representative as a Republican due to her actions over the last year.
