In an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC News’s “This Week,” Cheney said Friday that she “wouldn’t be surprised” if House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) were subpoenaed as part of the Jan. 6 commission’s probe into the events surrounding the storming of the Capitol that day.
The interview marks Cheney’s latest break with her party’s leader in the House.
“He absolutely should,” Cheney said when asked whether McCarthy should be willing to testify before the commission. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if he were subpoenaed. I think that he very clearly … said publicly that he’s got information about the president’s state of mind that day.”
Cheney added that the elements of the commission are “exactly as they should be.”
House Republicans and Democrats announced Friday that they had reached agreement on a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack. The House is scheduled to vote on the commission next week.
“I’m very glad they rejected Leader McCarthy’s suggestions that somehow we should dilute the commission,” she said. “It’s really important that it be focused just on Jan. 6 and the events leading up to it.”
Pressed on whether she would welcome a subpoena of McCarthy, Cheney replied, “I would hope he doesn’t require a subpoena, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were subpoenaed.”
Immediately after the short-lived insurrection, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) said McCarthy had relayed details of his call with Trump. Trump had “initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol,” Herrera Beutler said, indicating that Trump would have already been aware of the siege when McCarthy spoke to him.
According to Herrera Beutler, after McCarthy told Trump it was his supporters storming the Capitol, Trump responded: “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”
But during an interview with host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” last month, McCarthy declined to say what Trump told him on the call.
“Did he say to you, ‘I guess some people are more concerned about the election than you are?’ ” Wallace asked.
“No, listen,” McCarthy replied. “My conversations with the president are my conversations with the president. I engaged in the idea of making sure we could stop what was going on inside the Capitol at that moment in time.”
In her interview, Cheney also said she regretted her vote for Trump in the 2020 election. "It was a vote based on policy, based on substance and in terms of the kinds of policies he put forward that were good for the country. But I think it’s fair to say that I regret the vote,” she said.
The interview marks Cheney’s latest break with her party’s leader in the House.
“He absolutely should,” Cheney said when asked whether McCarthy should be willing to testify before the commission. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if he were subpoenaed. I think that he very clearly … said publicly that he’s got information about the president’s state of mind that day.”
Cheney added that the elements of the commission are “exactly as they should be.”
House Republicans and Democrats announced Friday that they had reached agreement on a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack. The House is scheduled to vote on the commission next week.
“I’m very glad they rejected Leader McCarthy’s suggestions that somehow we should dilute the commission,” she said. “It’s really important that it be focused just on Jan. 6 and the events leading up to it.”
Pressed on whether she would welcome a subpoena of McCarthy, Cheney replied, “I would hope he doesn’t require a subpoena, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were subpoenaed.”
Immediately after the short-lived insurrection, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) said McCarthy had relayed details of his call with Trump. Trump had “initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol,” Herrera Beutler said, indicating that Trump would have already been aware of the siege when McCarthy spoke to him.
According to Herrera Beutler, after McCarthy told Trump it was his supporters storming the Capitol, Trump responded: “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”
But during an interview with host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” last month, McCarthy declined to say what Trump told him on the call.
“Did he say to you, ‘I guess some people are more concerned about the election than you are?’ ” Wallace asked.
“No, listen,” McCarthy replied. “My conversations with the president are my conversations with the president. I engaged in the idea of making sure we could stop what was going on inside the Capitol at that moment in time.”
In her interview, Cheney also said she regretted her vote for Trump in the 2020 election. "It was a vote based on policy, based on substance and in terms of the kinds of policies he put forward that were good for the country. But I think it’s fair to say that I regret the vote,” she said.
