House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, (R-Calif.), has forcefully rejected reports that he told his Republican colleagues that he would encourage former President Donald Trump to resign in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. Now, audio has emerged that directly contradicts his denial.

On Thursday night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow aired an audio recording of McCarthy speaking to House Republican leadership on Jan. 10 about his plans for rebuking Trump over his incitement of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol Building. McCarthy, who backed Trump faithfully during his time in office, privately aired his anger at the then-president on that day.

Asked by Rep. Liz Cheney, (R-Wyo.), whether there was any chance Trump would resign, McCarthy said that was unlikely. The California Republican then acknowledged that House Democrats would likely be successful in impeaching Trump, but he would nonetheless ask him to resign.

“The only discussion I would have with him is I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation that he should resign,” McCarthy says, referring to the impeachment resolution in the House. “That would be my take, but I don’t think he would take it.”

McCarthy also was recorded saying that his conversation with Trump would not include any discussion about a possible pardon by Vice President Mike Pence if he were to step down. However, McCarthy acknowledged again that he doubted Trump would listen to him.

These conversations helped form a portion of an upcoming book by New York Times journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future”. After an article on Thursday first captured this conversation, McCarthy issued a fierce rebuke, calling their work “false and wrong.”

"It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda,” McCarthy said on Twitter. “This promotional book tour is no different."

RELATED STORIES