'Completely absurd': GOP governor slams his party for 'whitewashing' MAGA rioters as tourists

According to CBS News, on "The Takeout" podcast this week with Washington correspondent Major Garrett, Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) took his own party to task for their attempts at "whitewashing" the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"We have to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. And there's no whitewashing," said Hogan, a staunch conservative but a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump. "We need to get all the facts and find out exactly what happened. But there's no way to just overlook this and say it didn't happen. The nonsense about 'these were just peaceful tourists' is completely absurd."

A number of Republicans have tried to falsely claim that the Capitol rioters were unarmed and nonviolent. Trump has even suggested that the crowd gathered for the rally that fed into the riot was "loving."

Hogan added that while he was concerned about the lack of Republicans on the House select committee to investigate the attack — a situation that arose because House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is boycotting the proceedings — he is pleased that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) will be on it. "I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Liz Cheney. I think she showed a lot of courage when there were not too many examples of profiles of courage," said Hogan. "We need people like Liz Cheney in the Republican Party."

You can listen to the episode here.