Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has apparently had a change of heart about the Jan. 6 committee, saying Thursday that “the public needs to know” its findings on the “horrendous event.”
“I think the fact-finding is interesting,” he added during an interview with Spectrum News that aired Thursday. “We’re all going to be watching it.”
McConnell’s newfound eagerness is a markedly different tone than he struck during the creation of the committee. Back in May, he said that an investigation under Democratic leadership would be “slanted and unbalanced.” His position turned some of his members — who had initially expressed support for the idea — against the creation of a commission.
In the same interview this week, he declined to give an “evaluation of the performance of the committee” when asked his thoughts on Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) revelations this week about Mark Meadows’ role on Jan. 6 and in its build-up. Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) are the only Republicans on the panel.
This week has seen a flood of news out of the committee’s investigation, including a slate of text messages from Fox News hosts and Donald Trump Jr. to Meadows during the insurrection, pleading with him to get then-President Donald Trump to call off the mob.
The committee also reportedly recently interviewed staffers of Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, who Trump pressured to “find” enough votes to flip the state’s election. Committee members on Thursday subpoenaed the creator of a PowerPoint that outlined ways for Republican members of Congress to overturn the election.
