Michael Fanone Savages Kevin McCarthy After Jan. 6 Audio Released: ‘Potentially Being Speaker Way More Important’ to Him Than Democracy

Former D.C. Metro Police officer and current CNN analyst Michael Fanone talked with anchor Jim Acosta on Saturday about new court filings from the January 6 committee, text messages to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows from various GOP members, and the release of audio from House Republican leaders.

Fanone said that ex-president Donald Trump “and his surrogates “incited violence” on January 6 of 2021, and “their words resulted in the insurrection at the Capitol.” He also specifically blasted minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, saying that their behavior is especially “embarrassing” in comparison to the inspiring actions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“I look at our politicians and our elected leaders, and I think to myself, this is the best we’ve got. This is it,” he said. “It’s just unreal.”

ACOSTA: According to this new court filing from the Jan. six committee, an aide to Mark Meadows told the committee that she heard Republican Congressman Scott Perry talking about this idea of sending people to the Capitol on January sixth. And as you’ll recall in Trump’s speech that day, he called on people to go down to the Capitol. Microphone on what is your response to that?

FANONE: I mean, it’s what I’ve been saying ever since my testimony before Congress. I believe that Donald Trump, his surrogates, incited violence that day, and that their words resulted in the insurrection at the Capitol as we all saw it.

ACOSTA: And the fact that we now have it in writing, members of Congress wanted people to show up at the Capitol that day? I mean, these are the people you’re supposed to protect, that you were there to protect.

FANONE: Yeah. I mean, that is like, I don’t know, nothing short of embarrassing. I mean, that was my initial reaction., I think, to all of this was, you know, in a time where so many of us Americans, myself included, are inspired by the actions of President Zelensky. I look at our politicians and our elected leaders, and I think to myself: What, this is the best we’ve got? This is it? You know, people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kevin McCarthy. I mean, they just — it’s just unreal.

ACOSTA: Yeah. And Michael former president Trump is standing behind McCarthy, the House minority leader, despite this audio of McCarthy bashing Trump on this call with his other Republican colleagues in the days after the January sixth attack. Let’s play a little bit of that for our viewers, and then I’ll get you to respond.

At that point, Acosta played the audio clip of McCarthy speaking on that call.

“And then McCarthy went down to Mar-a-Lago, had that meeting with Trump,” he said after it played. “How does all of this look now to you?”

“I mean, unfortunately again, it’s not surprising. This is the caliber of politician that that we have in this country today,” said Fanone.

“Kevin McCarthy, I — again, I don’t know what’s worse,” he said, “some of the fringe members of Congress that never accepted the reality of January 6, or someone like Kevin McCarthy, who is acutely aware of what happened that day, the violence that day, attributed blame to former President Trump, and then, you know, for political purposes, has now reversed course and decided that you know, him being Speaker or potentially being Speaker is way more important than our democracy.”

Fanone is not the only observer suggesting that McCarthy is only changing his tune in order to secure a spot as Speaker of the House should Republicans sweep in November as expected. McCarthy is denying he wanted Trump to resign, despite the audio of him saying that very thing.

“But again, you know, that’s that’s what we call a leader in this country today,” said the former officer to Acosta.

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

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