Pelosi on McCarthy subpoena: Jan. 6 committee will take it ‘one step at a time’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack would take it “one step at a time” in response to a question about whether the full House would vote to hold GOP lawmakers, including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in contempt if they did not cooperate with the panel.

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” moderator George Stephanopoulos asked Pelosi if the House would vote to hold McCarthy and other lawmakers in contempt if they continue to hold out from speaking with the committee after they were subpoenaed last week.

“Well, the committee will take this one step at a time. But I’m very proud of the committee. They’re working in a very strong bipartisan way to seek the truth, to find the truth of what happened with an assault,” Pelosi said.

“People say to me, ‘Well, this is unprecedented.’ Yeah, well it’s unprecedented for the president of the United States to incite an insurrection on the Capitol, on the Congress, on the Constitution, in that manner. And we must seek the truth. And I’m proud of the work of the committee.”

The Jan.6 committee on Thursday issued subpoenas to McCarthy and four other GOP House lawmakers: Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). 

The committee said it was seeking testimony from McCarthy about communications he had that day with Trump.

In a statement, the committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the panel decided to issue the round of subpoenas to the five lawmakers after they so far refused to comply with their questions.

“We urge our colleagues to comply with the law, do their patriotic duty, and cooperate with our investigation as hundreds of other witnesses have done,” Thompson said.