According to the Washington Post, a new book states that an angry House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) brought Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) to tears when he “yelled at her” for sharing information about a private phone call between him and former President Donald Trump.
The details are profiled in two recent books. One of them is authored by Robert Draper and titled “Weapons of Mass Delusion: When the Republican Party Lost Its Mind.” In that book, Draper notes that McCarthy was angry with how then-President Trump appeared to “downplay the events of the riot.”
According to Draper, McCarthy and Trump had a “heated exchange” when McCarthy pushed Trump to intervene to stop the Jan. 6 protest at the Capitol in Washington D.C. Politico reports the argument took place in the afternoon of Jan. 6.
Details of the heated phone conversation between McCarthy and Trump were leaked to news outlets. The leak reportedly infuriated Trump who raged at McCarthy who, in turn, sternly questioned Herrera Beutler about why she disclosed the call’s details.
Herrera Beutler’s story is profiled in a book by Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian titled Uncheckedrrrr: The Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump.
Bade and Demirjian quote McCarthy as saying to Herrera Beutler:
“After all the work I have done for the Republican Party, the money I have raised! After all the work I have done for you! …You should have come to me! Why did you go to the press? This is no way to thank me!”
According to Bade and Demirjian, Herrera Beutler learned of the conversation between McCarthy and Trump while seeking advice from McCarthy regarding how to vote at Trump’s second impeachment trial.
Reportedly, McCarthy shared the story believing it would “likely prompt Herrera Beutler to vote yes to impeachment.”
The Post reported that in February of 2021, McCarthy complained to Herrera Beutler that “he alone” was “taking all the heat” to protect the Republican Party from Trump.
McCarthy reportedly scolded Herrera Beutler: “I have been working with Trump to keep him from going after Republicans like you and blowing up the party and destroying all our work!”
Herrera Beutler reportedly started crying and, through tears, apologized for not notifying McCarthy that she confirmed to media organizations that a heated discussion took place between him and Trump on Jan. 6. However, she pushed back saying, “What did you want me to do? Lie? I did what I thought was right.”
McCarthy and Herrera Beutler issued a joint statement in response to media reports about the famed Jan. 6 phone call between McCarthy and Trump.
Their statement dismisses media reports, citing “multiple inaccuracies” and suggests the reports are “dramatized to fit an on-screen adaptation, not to serve as a document of record.”
Demirjian and Bade claim Republicans have attempted to “whitewash the details of what happened on Jan. 6.” They write:
“McCarthy’s tirade against Herrera Beutler was just the start of what would become a GOP-wide campaign to whitewash the details of what happened on Jan. 6 in the aftermath of the second impeachment.”
Notably, Herrera Beutler lost her bid to retain her seat in Congress. She was edged out in the primary by Trump-backed candidate Joe Kent.
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