Former US president Donald Trump acknowledged "some responsibility" for the storming of the US Capitol on January 6th last year by his supporters, the top Republican in the House of Representatives told fellow politicians in the days after the riots.
Audio recordings obtained by the New York Times also showed House of Representatives minority leader Kevin McCarthy saying that Mr Trump should resign over the attacks carried out by his supporters in an attempt to delay the formal certification of Joe Biden as president.
Mr McCarthy had denied that he had made such a statement just hours before a tape of the conversation, recorded on January 10th last year, was released by the newspaper on Thursday night.
In a second audio clip released on Friday, Mr McCarthy said: “Let me be very clear to all of you, and I have been very clear to the president. He [Mr Trump] bears responsibilities for his words and actions.”
‘Feel bad’
Mr McCarthy said on the call, which took place on January 11th last year: “No if, ands or buts. I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened?” Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened and he’d need to acknowledge that.”
US media reported on Friday that Mr McCarthy phoned Mr Trump shortly after the audio recordings were released
Mr McCarthy’s assertion on the taped phone call is at odds with the former president’s refusal, then and now, to accept responsibility for the attack on the US Capitol which led to the deaths of a number of people either directly or later on.
‘Insurrection or rebellion’
In another development linked to the January 6th attacks, a Republican member of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene, appeared in a court in Georgia on Friday for a hearing dealing with a challenge to her standing for re-election over her alleged involvement in events at the Capitol.
The hearing followed attempts by a coalition of voters and liberal groups, to have Ms Greene disqualified under the 14th amendment to the US constitution as they contend she encouraged and supported the rioters who stormed the Capitol
Passed after the civil war, this provision is aimed at preventing anyone from sitting in Congress if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the constitution “or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”.
Ms Greene said she did not support violence of any kind. “My words never ever mean anything for violence,” she said in response to a question at the hearing.
She is the first Republican member of Congress to give evidence under oath regarding the riots at the Capitol last year. Some people in the room in Atlanta cheered and applauded as Ms Greene took her seat for the hearing.
