MCCARTHY IS DELEGITIMIZING JAN. 6 COMMITTEE

“We cannot sweep this under the rug. We need to know why it happened, who did it, and people need to be held accountable for it. And I’m committed to make sure that happens.”

That was Kevin McCarthy, speaking to Republican colleagues on Jan. 11, 2021 about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Two weeks later, McCarthy proudly stood by the man who ordered that attack for a photo, making clear the former president was still fully in control of the GOP and pulling McCarthy’s strings.

By Thursday’s prime-time hearing of the House Jan. 6 subcommittee, McCarthy had made numerous efforts to obstruct the committee’s formation and investigation, even voting against a bipartisan commission for which he appointed a Republican colleague to broker a deal with Chairman Bennie Thompson. Last month, McCarthy tried to claim in a filing on behalf of Steve Bannon that the Jan. 6 subcommittee is not legitimate, only to have his filing rejected less than 24 hours later by a Trump-appointed judge. The fact that McCarthy did this after receiving his own subpoena from the committee has only brought more questions as to what he’s hiding to protect Trump and his insurrectionist colleagues.

McCarthy said he would not watch Thursday’s hearing. Twenty million American households did. His efforts to delegitimize the committee whose formation he once vocally supported have failed miserably. Bakersfield must vote Kevin McCarthy out of office in November for the shame he has brought upon us all. — Chris Carton, Bakersfield