Trump called McConnell a 'disloyal sleaze bag' after the Jan. 6 committee aired a clip showing the senator blaming him for the Capitol riot
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- Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday.
- Trump called McConnell a "disloyal sleaze bag" after the Jan. 6 committee aired a video of him blaming the former president for the Capitol riot.
- The mob was "provoked by the president and other powerful people," McConnell said in the clip.
Former President Donald Trump went after Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday amid the Jan. 6 committee investigation into the Capitol riot.
The committee, tasked with investigating what happened before, during, and after the Capitol riot last year, played a video of McConnell blaming the former president for inciting the insurrection.
In the video, McConnell is addressing the Senate floor right as Trump faced his second impeachment trial.
"The mob was fed lies," McConnell said. "They were provoked by the president and other powerful people."
Seven Republican senators voted to convict Trump during the second impeachment trial on an "incitement of insurrection" charge. McConnell was not one of the seven.
"Is this the same Mitch McConnell who was losing big in Kentucky, and came to the White House to BEG me for an Endorsement and help? Without me he would have lost in a landslide. A disloyal sleaze bag!" Trump posted on Truth Social after the committee aired the clip of McConnell on the Senate floor.
The Capitol riot left five people, including one police officer, dead. Members of the Proud Boys, which is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were also present.
Organizers were emboldened by former President Donald Trump's urges to protest the results of the 2020 election with him, despite Joe Biden's election victory. While members of Congress were meeting inside the Capitol to certify the results and verify Biden's electoral win, Trump supporters organized an attempted coup and stormed the Capitol.
After the riot, insurrectionists scrambled to delete photos and social-media posts proving their participation in the Capitol riot. Some broke their cellphones, scrubbed their social media accounts, and tried to wipe hard drives that might contain photos and other proof of their involvement.
But others boasted of their involvement, making it easier for the FBI to identify and later bring charges against them. So far, more than 882 people have been charged in connection with the insurrection, according to Insider's database.