House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was asked whether he agreed with right-wing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s claim — made during a House Oversight Committee hearing — that Ashli Babbitt was “murdered” during the Jan. 6 attack. The California Republican’s response was brief but clear.
“I think the police officer did his job,” McCarthy told reporters. He quickly moved on to the next question without elaborating.
Donald Trump was not pleased. Here was the message the former president published last night:
“I totally disagree with the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, in that the Police Officer ‘Thug,’ who has had a very checkered past to begin with, was not just ‘doing his job’ when he shot and killed Great Patriot Ashli Babbitt at point blank range. Despite trying to keep him anonymous, shielded, and protected, this MISFIT proudly showed up on NBC Fake Nightly News ‘bragging’ about the killing. He was not a hero but a COWARD, who wanted to show how tough he was. ASHLI BABBITT WAS MURDERED!!!”
For those who might need a refresher, let’s revisit our earlier coverage and review how we arrived at this point.
During the Jan. 6 attack, a group of rioters reached a doorway that led to a House chamber hallway. That hallway was an escape route for lawmakers who could see the attackers through glass windows.
As regular readers know, when rioters smashed through those windows, one of the insurrectionists, Babbitt, tried to break through to enter the hallway where members of Congress were being evacuated. Officers asked her to stand down. She refused. A police officer eventually fired a single shot, and the rioter later died at a local hospital.
Then-Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin, a year before the Oklahoman’s election to the Senate, was a witness to the developments and conceded publicly that the officer “did what he had to do“ and “didn’t have a choice.” What’s more, the U.S. Capitol Police cleared the lieutenant who fired the shot,…
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