(JustPatriots.com)- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a subtle threat to her counterpart in the lower chamber, saying she couldn’t rule out possibly charging House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy with contempt of Congress if he were to decide not to comply with a subpoena.
Last week, the House special January 6 investigating committee issued a subpoena to McCarthy. In that time, Pelosi said the committee would take it all “one step at a time” if McCarthy decides not to cooperate with them.
McCarthy was one of several prominent Republicans in the House who were subpoenaed last week over their connection to the attacks on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 of 2021, and the events that preceded and followed.
Pelosi said she was “proud” of the work that the committee was doing. She also said she wouldn’t rule out charging all those who didn’t comply with a subpoena with contempt of Congress, just as they did with Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former President Donald Trump.
Speaking on the “This Week” program recently, Pelosi said:
“The committee will take this one step at a time. They’re working in a very strong bipartisan way to seek the truth, to find the truth of what happened with an assault.
“People say to me, ‘Well, this is unprecedented.’ Well, it’s unprecedented for the president of the United States to incite an insurrection on the Capitol, on the Congress, on the Constitution, in that matter. And we must seek the truth. And I’m proud of the work of the committee.”
Last week, McCarthy said that he had not yet seen the subpoena that was issued to him, so he couldn’t comment on it. He evaded questions from reporters last Friday on whether he would comply with it.
He did tell the Washington Examiner that he didn’t believe the House investigating committee was doing a fair and bipartisan job. He said:
“They’re not conducting a legitimate investigation. It seems as though they just want to go after their political opponents.”
McCarthy’s subpoena was sent to his lawyer last week. That same day, other prominent House Republicans also received subpoenas from the committee, including Alabama’s Mo Brooks, Ohio’s Jim Jordan, Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry and Arizona’s Andy Biggs.
In the letter that was sent directly to McCarthy, the committee’s chairman, Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson, wrote:
“We write to request your voluntary cooperation with our investigation on a range of critical topics, including your conversations with President Trump before, during and after the violent January 6th attack. You have acknowledged speaking directly with the former President while the violence was underway on January 6th. And you summarized your conclusions regarding President Trump’s conduct on January 6th in a speech you make January 13th on the House floor.”
In a statement that Thompson released along with the latest subpoenas, Thompson encouraged the GOP House members to “comply with the law, do their patriotic duty and cooperate with our investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done.”
The House committee has plans to continue public hearings next month.
