Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has a message for the House Jan. 6 committee: Keep doing exactly what you’re doing — because we’re watching you. That was the takeaway from the letter McCarthy sent the committee on Thursday, telegraphing the incoming Republican majority’s commitment to relitigate all the work the panel has undertaken in the last year and a half.
Much like McCarthy’s other campaign stunts in his bid to win over his far-right members ahead of next month’s new Congress, there’s absolutely nothing of substance to this warning. It’s all a performance to show Republican hard-liners that he will be tough on Democrats in defense of former President Donald Trump. So, no matter what winds up in the Jan. 6 committee’s final report, McCarthy and the GOP have to stand firm against it.
The House Jan. 6 committee is holding its final public hearing on Monday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. ET. Get expert analysis in real time on our live blog at msnbc.com/jan6report.
In his letter, McCarthy reminds committee chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., “to preserve all records and transcripts of testimony taken during your investigation.” He goes on to say the GOP will hold hearings into why the Capitol complex wasn’t secure on Jan. 6, 2021. Americans, he writes, “are owed all the information you gathered — not merely the information that comports with your political agenda. … The American people have a right to know that the allegations you have made are supported by the facts and to be able to view the transcripts with an eye toward encouraged enforcement of 18 USC 1001.”
Let’s break down how pointless most of those words are. The subtext is that there is a chance that the committee might hide or destroy some key evidence that shows that it was always meant to be a political weapon against Trump. But the committee was already saving all the documents being produced, as required under the resolution that created it. Thompson himself said Tuesday that all the transcripts produced will be released after redaction of names of witnesses who agreed to testify anonymously.
As for the Capitol’s security, the House has already held hearings on the matter, and the Senate has already released a bipartisan report. And “18 USC 1001?” That’s a section of the law that says government officials can’t knowingly lie in the course of their work.








