In Herrera Beutler’s narrative, McCarthy asked Trump to cancel the crowd, to which Trump initially replied that he could not because he was composed of left-wing extremists – a falsehood that was unmasked by federal investigators.
When McCarthy refuted Trump, the former president replied, “Well, Kevin, I think these people are more upset about the election than you are,” according to Herrera-Beutler.
The comment is further evidence to support the case the House is putting together during the Senate trial – that Trump ignored calls from his allies to cancel the protesters and demand that they return home. Instead, he seemed more interested, they argue, in continuing to find ways to delay certification of Joe Biden’s victory as president that day.
Herrera Beutler’s anecdote fits Senator Tommy Tuberville’s revelation that he directly informed Trump at around 2:15 pm on January 6 that Pence had been evacuated from the Senate chamber a few minutes earlier. At 2:24 pm, Trump tweeted an attack on Pence, saying he lacked “courage” for refusing to unilaterally block Biden’s victory.
It is unclear whether Herrera Beutler’s pleas will have any impact just hours before the Senate concludes its trial and vote.
Last Friday, a Democratic senator cited the McCarthy and Tuberville revelations as a reason to potentially “suspend” the impeachment trial and seek the testimony of both Republican lawmakers.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.) said that House managers could also ask the “Secret Service to produce communications back to the White House about VP Pence security during the siege. What did Trump know and when did he know? ” No other Democratic senator has explicitly called for such measures so far.
The nine House Democrats who are suing the Trump case have not yet indicated whether they want to call witnesses, although senators on both sides have anticipated that the trial will end without any further testimony and quickly move on to the final arguments and a vote.
Trump’s lawyers said Trump was “horrified” by the violence on Capitol Hill and acted quickly to respond to it, allegations that contradict the memories of several Trump allies and his own public statements on the day of the riots.
Herrera Beutler has been telling McCarthy’s story since last month, including to her local newspaper, but she went unnoticed and was not mentioned in the House’s impeachment process against Trump, concluded on Thursday.