-The committee investigating
Donald Trump's attempted coup on January 6th
held its first televised hearing tonight
and, in advance of that hearing,
more audio emerged of a phone call
in which House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said, in the days
after the insurrection, that there should be
an investigation into what happened
and the people responsible should be held accountable,
which is notable, of course, since McCarthy,
like most of his fellow Republicans,
have since changed their tune to appease Trump.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪ [ Cheering and applause ]
We do not know exactly what happened at the hearing tonight
because we are taping this before it airs,
but I'm hoping they really jazzed it up for TV
and invited some surprise guests.
-I want to now introduce our witnesses today
and swear them in.
Our first witness is...
-Rudy Giuliani!
[ Laughter and applause ]
-I'm guessing you could trick Rudy Giuliani
into going anywhere if you put him
in a jack-in-a-box costume like that. [ Laughter ]
One day we're going to see federal agents carrying him
out of his apartment building in that costume.
[ As Giuliani ] You guys promise we're going
to "America's Got Talent," right?
[ Laughter ] In that case,
I'm going to crawl back in my box
and go over the lyrics to "Fireworks,"
so I don't embarrass myself.
[ Laughter ]
I'm guessing that didn't happen, although,
we don't know for sure, since,
as of this taping, we haven't seen the hearing,
which gives us something in common
with viewers of Fox News, which announced, in advance,
that it wouldn't be airing the hearing live.
-Fox News making a programing decision.
It's sticking with its primetime lineup on Thursday --
Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity
This is instead of showing
the January 6th Select Committee hearing
concerning the Capitol Hill riot.
-Of course, Fox isn't airing it.
They're a key suspect in it.
[ Laughter ]
That would be like if Court TV's coverage of the O.J. trial
had been hosted by O.J.
[ Laughter and applause ]
"Whoops, sorry, fellas.
The mic keeps slipping
out of these leather gloves,
which fit perfectly.
[ Laughter ] I mean, they're too small.
Damn it! Cut! No, not cut! Stop taping!
[ Laughter and applause ]
Fox was an active participant
in spreading the big lie that led to the attempted coup
and has since helped whitewash and cover up what happened.
In fact, the January 6th Committee has already revealed
private texts from Fox hosts, like Laura Ingraham,
Sean Hannity, and Brian Kilmeade
to Trump Chief of Staff Frank Meadows
on the day of the riot.
Imagine if the committee read those text messages
and then Fox cut back to Hannity or Ingraham.
It'd be like watching that "Planet Earth" clip
where the snakes chase the iguana
and then, at the end, they cut to an interview with the snakes.
[ Laughter ]
"Uh, look, I know it looks bad.
We were just trying to, I don't know, help the iguana.
Look, it's the food chain!"
[ Laughter ]
In fact, we already know,
thanks to the January 6th Committee,
not to take anything Fox hosts state seriously,
since, behind the scenes,
they were privately imploring Trump to quell the mob.
They knew it was his fault
and they knew he had the power to stop it.
They won't say that in public, but they did say it in private.
-Multiple Fox News hosts knew the president needed
to act immediately.
They texted Mr. Meadows and he has turned over those texts.
"Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol
to go home.
This is hurting all of us
He is destroying his legacy," Laura Ingraham wrote.
"Please get him on tv.
Destroying everything you have accomplished,"
Brian Kilmeade texted.
"Can he make a statement.
Ask people to leave the capital,"
Sean Hannity urged.
-First of all, I'm shocked to learn
that Brian Kilmeade is capable of texting at all.
[ Laughter ] I just assume he does all is communicating
via a tin can attached to a string. [ Laughter and applause ]
Second, and more importantly, they all knew.
They said stuff like, "This is hurting us all.
Destroying his legacy.
Can he ask people to leave?"
They were watching the ride on TV, like the rest of us,
and they all knew it was bad and that Trump could stop it,
just like the rest of us.
As you can see, from these private texts,
they weren't sitting there, thinking,
"This is just a peaceful protest,"
or "This is all antifa's fault."
They knew Trump could stop it, if he wanted to,
which makes them liars.
They don't even believe their own bull[bleep].
In a way, it would at least be more honest
if we found out that, behind the scenes,
they were texting stuff like...
[ Laughter ]
And, by the way, they were not the only Trump supporters
who were privately horrified by the insurrection,
while publicly lying about it or making excuses for it.
Just last night, more bombshell audio
of GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy surfaced,
from the days after the insurrection,
in which McCarthy was adamant
that there should be a full investigation of the riot
and that whoever was responsible should be punished.
And he even went so far as to tell
his fellow Republicans on that call
that he had personally confronted Trump.
-Five days later, McCarthy spoke to his members
and, again, it's on tape.
McCarthy said that he got on the phone,
he talked to Trump, and that he castigated him
and he told him to call off the mob.
...was going on...
-I mean, I would imagine, anytime you talk to Trump,
you have to be very loud about it.
[ Laughter ] The dude on the other end
of that phone call is so loud,
he routinely did his press conferences next
to a roaring helicopter [ Laughter ]
and we could still hear every word he said.
[ Laughter ] I mean, just look at his face.
[ Laughter and applause ]
He always looks like the villain in an action movie
who realizes the hero has defused the bomb.
[ As Trump ] Damn you, Jean-Claude!
[ Laughter and applause ]
But even more revealing than that part of the phone call
was the part where McCarthy specifically went out of his way
to insist that the events of January 6th
deserve a full investigation
and that the people responsible should be held accountable.
-During that call, McCarthy also is on tape vowing
to make someone pay for the attack,
even raising the idea
of a bipartisan commission to investigate.
-Strong words, but then a few weeks later,
he was at Mar-a-Lago,
posing for this photo with Donald Trump,
where they look like rival strip club owners,
acting like nothing ever happened. [ Laughter ]
He basically yada yada yada'd an attempted coup.
[ Laughter ] On that phone call you just heard,
just days after the insurrection,
he literally said the words,
"We can't sweep this under the rug."
And now, he's essentially showing up to all his interviews
on Fox News with a giant broom.
[ Laughter ] Also, side note here,
but what is it with these guys constantly
getting caught on tape saying damning stuff?
Over the last six or so years,
I've honestly lost count of the number of times
some Trump-adjacent doofus, like Rudy or McCarthy,
or Trump himself has been caught on tape,
directly contradicting something they said in public.
Next, we're going to find out that, behind the scenes,
Rudy Giuliani is actually a very normal guy
who never makes this face.
[ Laughter ] And, yeah,
yeah, we use that photo a lot.
[ Laughter ] But do you know --
do you know what he's doing in that photo?
He's taking a closer look.
[ Laughter ]
That's where we got the idea.
[ Cheering and applause ] Yeah, we were like, "Oh."
[ Whistling ]
Secret tapes are going to emerge of Rudy doing normal stuff,
like watching "Ozark" or paying his cable bill
or checking into a hotel looking like this.
[ As Giuliani ] Hello. [ Laughter ]
My name is Rudy Giuliani.
I'm here to check in to the actual Four Seasons Hotel,
for a normal vacation with my normal wife,
who is not now, nor has ever been, my cousin.
[ Laughter ] So, in private,
McCarthy told his fellow Republicans
the coup attempt couldn't be swept under the rug.
Now, he's doing exactly that, going on Fox
and trying to sweep it under the rug
by slamming the investigation as illegitimate
and claiming it shouldn't even be happening.
-What they're doing in this committee
is going after their political foes, their opponents.
We've watched it time and again.
What we have found, with one-party rule
of Democrats taking over the House, the Senate,
and the presidency,
they use the power to go after their political opponents,
instead of bringing down gasoline prices.
Today, it has now doubled, the gasoline price,
since President Biden has taken office.
Are they going to have any hearings on that?
-They always do this annoying thing where they're like,
"People care more about gas prices."
You know we're all capable of caring
about more than one thing at a time, right?
[ Laughter ] I think people can focus
on an attack on democracy.
I mean, what else are they going to do?
They can't drive anywhere
because gas is so [bleep] expensive.
[ Laughter and applause ] But,
McCarthy's opposition to the investigation
is also self-interested, since he was
personally subpoenaed by the committee
and he told Fox that he responded to that subpoena
with a bunch of questions.
-Did you receive a subpoena from the January 6th Committee
and, if so, how did you respond?
-I did receive a subpoena and I requested --
I asked for information.
Eleven pages, I sent a letter to this committee.
I sent a letter to this committee a year ago,
when they asked to talk to me, and they never responded.
-Probably because your questions were super dumb.
I mean, I'm just guessing. [ Laughter ]
But I'm pretty confident that they were super dumb.
It's like when you invite your friends to a party
and most people just RSVP, but then one guy writes back...
[ Laughter ]
"Also, does your house have European outlets,
or should I bring converters?"
[ Laughter ]
Also, you're obviously entitled
to ask whatever questions you want, but, ultimately,
it's a subpoena. You have to comply.
Although, maybe not anymore?
It does feel like this committee is pretty easy to say no to.
The Justice Department just announced they won't even charge
two former Trump aides with contempt of Congress
for refusing to cooperate.
They react the way I do when I'm trying to get my kids to eat.
Finish your pasta! "I don't want to!"
Great! Then I guess you'll just go hungry!
Why don't you go think about it while you play video games?!
Yeah. Alright.
[ Laughter ]
And when Republicans aren't actively
obstructing the investigation, they're claiming
no one's going to watch because people would rather
spend their time doing other things.
-This is not a fact-finding mission.
This is a two-hour, free documentary sponsored
by virtually every major network in America,
except for this one,
that's willing to give it airtime.
The only good thing about it is
most Americans aren't going to watch this garbage.
Okay, so the question -- does it work?
Do people watch?
-Well, I'd be interested to see
what the ratings are going to be.
This is kind of like watching --
Are they're going to go watch "Top Gun,"
which is entertainment, or are they going to watch
the J6, you know, TV-produced show?
-Again, you know, it's not an either/or, right?
You can watch "Top Gun" and the hearing.
You don't have to pick one.
It's not like people are showing up to the movie theaters
and the only two choices at the ticket counter are...
[ Laughter ]
Although, I will say, you got to see the hearings on IMAX.
[ Laughter ]
That's what everybody --
You haven't experienced true cinema,
until you've seen a close-up of Rudy Giuliani's teeth
on a 52-foot IMAX screen.
[ Laughter and applause ]
Uhhh!
[ Cheering and applause ]
"Anybody --
Anybody want the rest of my Raisinettes?"
[ Laughter ] Also, can we go back to this?
-This is a two-hour, free documentary sponsored
by virtually every major network in America.
-Oh, now, you're suddenly against TV networks
giving one side free airtime?
I don't seem to remember you objecting
when Fox aired Trump's marathon rallies live
or when he used to call in to "Fox & Friends" once a week
and just scream whatever the hell he wanted unchallenged
[ Laughter ] for an entire hour,
while the hosts just sat there on the couch
with blank stares on their faces,
[ Laughter ] like "Jeopardy!" contestants getting a question
about rap lyrics. [ Laughter and applause ]
Again, we don't know exactly what happened
in this hearing tonight because we're taping beforehand,
but we do know some of the most important stuff already,
which is that Donald Trump was at the center
of an attempted coup to overturn American democracy
and remain in power
as an unelected tyrant against the will of the people.
He pulled the strings and his fellow Republicans,
including his friends on Fox, knew what he was doing,
they knew it was wrong,
and they knew he had the power to stop it.
Kevin McCarthy even went out of his way to say
that this can't be swept under the rug.
They said that about the insurrection,
the same thing everyone in the audience
at "The Masked Singer" said when they heard
Rudy Giuliani's singing voice, which is...
-This is hurting all of us.
[ Laughter and applause ]
-This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪
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