’WHAT?!’: CNN’s Poppy Harlow Spars With McCarthy Strategist Saying Jan. 6 ‘Affects No One’s Lives in This Country’

Mike Shields, a strategist for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), had a contentious interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow Thursday evening regarding the Jan. 6 House select committee.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced her appointments to the committee, including one Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). McCarthy theoretically can appoint five members of his caucus, but those appointments are subject to Pelosi’s veto and many Republicans have publicly declared they do not want to be involved.

Harlow asked Shields about McCarthy’s opposition to the prior proposal for a bipartisan committee, and now his criticism of this select committee.

McCarthy refused to support the bipartisan committee, said Harlow, “even after Nancy Pelosi gave in on nearly all of his demands outlined in that February 22 letter, like equal representation by Democrats and Republicans, co-equal subpoena power,” so “why is he deadset against getting answers here?”

Shields replied by calling it a “partisan committee,” and mentioned that McCarthy had proposed a committee that would take a broader look at “political violence,” such as when a man shot at members of the Congressional baseball team during a practice, seriously injuring Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA).

“Why only focus on January 6?” Shields continued, saying that the reason was because Democrats were “in a terrible position” to keep the House in 2022.

“So, you’re in the minority and you don’t get every single thing you want,” said Harlow, noting that one of McCarthy’s demands wasn’t even originally in his letter, but added later, and so “you don’t look at an attack on the Capitol, even when you are inside of it — is that right?”

Shields continued to say it was a “partisan process” and “political theater.” The FBI was investigating the events of Jan. 6, he said, and continuing to arrest people. “I support the Capitol Police,” he said. “Anyone who did anything on January 6 that is illegal should go to jail.”

“Thank you for stating that you want answers here,” said Harlow, but “Kevin McCarthy clearly doesn’t, from any sort of –”

“That’s not true,” Shields interjected, saying that Pelosi’s committee was “not looking for answers, they’re looking for politics.”

Shields criticized the committee for potentially not having a clear deadline, and so they “may just keep doing this forever.”

“By the way, as a campaign operative, as a Republican, I’m kind of glad,” Shields said. “If the Democrats want to run in ’22 about January 6, which affects no one’s lives in this country every day, Republicans are going to run on securing the border –”

“What?!” Harlow interrupted, clearly shocked. “Wait, wait, hold on, January 6 affects no one’s lives in this country?

“This commission is not going to affect people’s lives,” he insisted.

“How could not having answers to an ongoing threat — Mike! An ongoing threat, a life or death threat according to DHS–” said Harlow.

Shields again called the committee “political theater.”

Harlow brought up McCarthy’s comments about the Benghazi commission, about finding the truth, wherever the truth takes us.

“We should investigate all of the political violence that happened in this country last year going back to when members of Congress were actually shot,” said Shields, but this was a “sham political process” and “Republicans are right to focus on the real issues the American people care about.”

Watch the video above, via CNN.

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