Kevin McCarthy is facing up to 3 years in prison if he refuses to testify about Trump: ex-prosecutor

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy of California could be facing legal exposure if he ignores a subpoena from the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol and it is established that he had knowledge Donald Trump committed a crime, a former federal prosecutor explained on MSNBC on Thursday.

MSNBC's Chris Hayes interviewed former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner after the select committee subpoenaed McCarthy along with Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Mo Brooks (R-AL).

Kirschner noted, "subpoenas are supposed to be taken seriously, they're not party invitations."

"But I think the other thing at risk right now, Chris, is that the legal landscape has shifted not so subtly in recent weeks, because a federal judge in California did announce in his finding, that after litigating the John Eastman email issue, that there was evidence — by a preponderance of the evidence, 51% — that Donald Trump and John Eastman committed two felony crimes together," he noted.

"So now, I suggest that ups the ante on the McCarthys of the world, if they decide to refuse to testify against Donald Trump, when a federal judge has already announced by a preponderance there's evidence that he committed crimes -- that actually constitutes to federal felonies in and of itself, if you refused to come forward and talk about the crimes that have been committed against the United States, accessory after the fact and misprision of a felony," he explained.

"Which we haven't talked about a lot, but that comes directly into play, because a crime has been committed that is cognizable by a court of the United States, and you conceal it? Which is what McCarthy and the others would be doing if they refused to testify. You have committed a three-year federal felony," he said.

The host noted that discussions of pardons from Trump could indicate consciousness of guilt.

"Yeah, exactly," Kirschner replied. "You don't need a pardon for a peaceful protest or a normal tourist visit. You need a pardon for a crime."

Watch the segment below or at this link.

Kevin McCarthywww.youtube.com