US: Audiotape reveals GOP leader intended to ask ex-Prez Trump to resign after Jan 6 riots

A new audiotape has revealed that United States House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said that he was considering asking former President Donald Trump to resign after the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In the audio clip aired on MSNBC, Representative Liz Cheney asks McCarthy if he was hearing that Trump "might resign or is there any reason to think that might happen?"

In response, the Republican Leader said he was planning to call Donald Trump and added that he would recommend that "Trump should resign." The audiotape was aired after McCarthy denied having a conversation regarding Trump's response with GOP leaders four days after the Capitol riot. 

In the phone call, Kevin McCarthy further stated that it would be his take and he did not believe that Trump would agree to it. As per the MSNBC report, the telephonic conversation between Cheney and McCarthy took place on 10 January 2021. The audiotape was aired after Republican leader Kevin McCarthy issued a statement earlier on Thursday where he denied having a telephonic conversation with GOP leaders on 10 January 2021.

McCarthy's statement came after a passage from an upcoming book written by two New York Times reporters, who said that four days after the Capitol riot, the Republican leader had spoken with a group of GOP leaders about how to handle the situation and what must be Trump's response to it, US News reported. 

Kevin McCarthy denies discussing Trump's resignation

Earlier on 21 April, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy released a statement on Twitter and called the New York Times report on him "totally false and wrong." He added, "It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda."

He added that if the reporters had been interested in finding the truth, "why" would they seek his response after the book has been published. He further highlighted that the past one and a half year has shown that the US was "better off" when former President Donald Trump was in office.

Criticising the media, he said that they did not focus on real issues that were faced by Americans and instead were focused on "profiting from manufactured political intrigue from politically-motivated sources." Days after the Capitol riot attack, McCarthy in his remarks had stated President Donald Trump "bears responsibility."

(Image: AP)