Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) has called on those close to former President Trump and former Vice President Pence to reveal what they know about Trump's actions as a violent mob of his supporters was assaulting the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Why it matters: Herrera Beutler, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to support Trump's impeachment for inciting the Capitol insurrection, also claimed in a statement on Friday night that the president accused House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of not supporting him when McCarthy urged Trump to publicly and forcefully call off the riot.
What they're saying: “In my January 12 statement in support of the article of impeachment, I referenced a conversation House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy relayed to me that he’d had with President Trump while the January 6 attack was ongoing," Herrera Beutler said.
- “When McCarthy finally reached the president on January 6 and asked him to publicly and forcefully call off the riot, the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol."
- McCarthy refuted that and told the president that these were Trump supporters. That’s when, according to McCarthy, the president said: ‘Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.’"
The big picture: “To the patriots who were standing next to the former president as these conversations were happening, or even to the former vice president: if you have something to add here, now would be the time," Herrera Beutler said hours before senators are expected to vote to convict or acquit Trump.