• The January 6 panel released a new video from the day of the Capitol riot.
  • The video, from 2.28 pm on January 6, 2021, shows staffers fleeing Rep. Kevin McCarthy's office.
  • This was just as rioters flooded the Capitol building's west side, violently clashing with police officers.

The January 6 panel released a never-before-seen video from inside House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office during the January 6 Capitol riot.

In the video, the dozens of frantic staffers are seen pouring into the hallways of Rep. McCarthy's office.

The staffers appeared to be fleeing McCarthy's office as a radio transmission signaled that people would be moving through the tunnels of the Capitol building. 

The House committee played the video during the first of six televised January 6 hearings. It pinpoints 2:28 p.m. — as violent clashes between rioters and police officers take place outside the Capitol, McCarthy staffers can be seen running through the hallway of his chambers. 

In January, former McCarthy staffer Ryan O'Toole said his ex-boss neglected to check on any of the staffers after the Capitol attack. 

"My understanding is none of McCarthy's staff were able to connect with him regarding the day's events or how to respond to them," O'Toole said.

McCarthy initially supported a congressional inquiry into the January 6 riot and even said he wanted to push Trump to resign, saying that he had "had it" with the former president. However, the California rep. later made a complete U-turn on his stance, opposing the January 6 commission and threatening technology firms that cooperate with the January 6 committee's inquiry to preserve GOP lawmakers' phone records.

McCarthy visited Trump's Florida estate in the days following the insurrection. It was during that meeting that Trump and McCarthy reportedly agreed to work together to help the GOP take back the House during the 2022 midterm elections.

For his part, McCarthy is now working with other House Republicans to formulate an alternative report in rebuttal to the panel's six public hearings regarding their findings on the riot.

Trump this month endorsed McCarthy for re-election, calling him "strong and fearless." 

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