'Pitiful' Kevin McCarthy pummeled in Washington Post editorial for efforts to obstruct MAGA riot probe

The Washington Post editorial board on Friday published a bruising editorial slamming House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for his efforts to obstruct the Capitol riot select committee.

The Post started off by criticizing McCarthy for threatening telecommunications companies in an effort to intimidate them into not sharing lawmakers' phone records during the January 6th riots with the committee.

They then said McCarthy's actions were part of a broader trend toward normalizing the riots.

"What a pitiful path Mr. McCarthy has traveled, from initially placing at least some blame for Jan. 6 on former president Donald Trump to actively undermining congressional inquiries into the riot," the editors write. "His descent reflects the GOP's broader trend toward embracing Jan. 6 trutherism: minimizing, forgiving or even valorizing a deadly attack on the nation's seat of government."

The editors then outlined why it was important to determine exactly which Republican lawmakers spoke with Trump and other White House officials during the Capitol siege.

"Details could reveal what Mr. Trump knew when and how he reacted, giving a better sense of his culpability for sparking and failing to contain the riot," they write. "Another open question is whether anyone in the Trump administration, or in Congress, connected with or even abetted the rioters in the run-up to the attack. These are core issues the House empaneled the committee to address."

The Post editorial concludes by saying McCarthy is only making himself appear more suspicious, as "his fevered reaction can only prompt questions about what he and members of the House GOP caucus seek to hide."

Read the whole editorial here.