McConnell Condemns Democrats for ‘Trying to Exploit’ Jan. 6 Anniversary, Blames ‘Criminals’ for Capitol Riot, But Somehow Doesn’t Mention Trump

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released a statement Thursday recognizing the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, blaming an anonymous group of “criminals” for the violence and condemning Democrats for “trying to exploit” the anniversary to “damage” the Senate — but never mentioning former President Donald Trump.

McConnell began his statement calling Jan. 6 a “dark day for Congress and our country,” and blaming “criminals” who “stormed” the U.S. Capitol and “brutalized police officers and used force to try to stop Congress from doing its job.”

“This disgraceful scene was antithetical to the rule of law,” McConnell continued. He expressed his gratitude to the “brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police” and that he “continue[s] to support justice for those who broke the law.”

He then focused his ire on his partisan foes, writing that it was “stunning to see some Washington Democrats try to exploit this anniversary to advance partisan policy goals that long predated this event.”

One year ago, McConnell concluded, the Senate “did not bend or break,” but instead “stuck together, stood strong, gaveled back in, and did our job.”

“Senators should not be trying to exploit this anniversary to damage the Senate in a different way from within.”

Nowhere in the statement does McConnell mention or even allude to Trump’s role in the events at the Capitol last year, nor does he mention the baseless claims of election fraud promoted by Trump and his allies.

He was singing a different tune last January.

On Jan. 6, 2021, mere hours after the rioters had been cleared from the Capitol and Congress reconvened to continue their constitutional duty to certify the Electoral College votes, McConnell called that vote “the most important vote I’ve ever cast,” and rejected Trump’s claims the election had been stolen as “unpersuasive,” noting the “dozens of lawsuits” that had been rejected by courts “over and over,” including by “all-star judges whom the president himself has nominated.”

“The voters, the courts, and the states have all spoken. They’ve all spoken,” McConnell emphasized. “If we overrule them it would damage our republic forever.”

“If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side our democracy would enter a death spiral,” he added. “We’d never see the whole nation accept an election again. Every four years would be a scramble for power, at any cost.”

McConnell was even more direct on Jan. 19, 2021, directly blaming Trump and his allies for inciting the violence that day.

“The last time the Senate convened, we had just reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals whose tried to stop Congress from doing our duty,” McConnell said. “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like.”

McConnell again condemned Trump on Feb. 13, 2021, shortly after voting against convicting the former president during his second impeachment trial. Seven Republican senators joined a unanimous Democratic caucus to convict Trump, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed.

Jan. 6 was “a disgrace,” said McConnell, condemning the Americans who “attacked their own government” and “used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of domestic business they did not like.”

“Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the Vice President,” he continued, and then specifically pointed the finger of blame at Trump.

“They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth. Because he was angry. He had lost an election.”

Trump’s actions that “preceded the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty,” he said.

“There’s no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.” McConnell declared. “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president. And having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated president kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth.”

Later in those same remarks, McConnell also said while he did not support removing a president who was no longer in office (the second impeachment trial occurred shortly after President Joe Biden had been sworn into office), Trump could still be civilly or criminally liable for his actions related to the events of Jan. 6.

On Feb. 15, 2021, McConnell wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal reaffirming these views, defending his vote to acquit Trump while stating that the former president bore “moral responsibility” for the riots.

McConnell’s full statement:

“January 6th, 2021 was a dark day for Congress and our country. The United States Capitol, the seat of the first branch of our federal government, was stormed by criminals who brutalized police officers and used force to try to stop Congress from doing its job. This disgraceful scene was antithetical to the rule of law. One year later, I am as grateful as ever for the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police who served our institution bravely that day and every day since. I continue to support justice for those who broke the law.

“As I said yesterday, it has been stunning to see some Washington Democrats try to exploit this anniversary to advance partisan policy goals that long predated this event. It is especially jaw-dropping to hear some Senate Democrats invoke the mob’s attempt to disrupt our country’s norms, rules, and institutions as a justification to discard our norms, rules, and institutions themselves.

“A year ago today, the Senate did not bend or break. We stuck together, stood strong, gaveled back in, and did our job. Senators should not be trying to exploit this anniversary to damage the Senate in a different way from within.”

Watch the video clips above, via CNN, CSPAN.