Meghan McCain has expressed hopes that former President Donald Trump will face legal consequences for the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, though she is keeping her expectations cautiously low.
Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol 15 months ago in an apparent attempt to disrupt the formal certification of Joe Biden's Electoral College victory in a joint session of Congress.
The supporters' attack came directly after Trump told them at a nearby Washington, D.C. rally to walk to the Capitol and "fight like hell" to save their country, following his stream of misinformation about the 2020 election results.
While the former president has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with January 6, the House select committee is investigating the events of January 6 and the related effort to prevent the certification of Biden's win.
Speaking with Newsweek this week about the investigation, McCain, whose late father Senator John McCain faced a number of verbal attacks from Trump, said that there "has to be consequences" for the real-estate mogul.
"I would like to see real legal ramifications for what happened on January 6, and who's responsible," Meghan McCain told Newsweek. "I understand why it's not the number one issue for American voters, because they're worried about the economy and Russia and security and safety in major cities. I understand all of that.
"But there still has to be consequences for this behavior and this kind of violence. My fear and my sort of anxiety in this space is just that, I feel like I have been told so many times that this is going to be the moment this is going to be the thing that finally, you know, gets him. This is the lawsuit, this is the whatever this is."
McCain then recounted that during her time as a panelist on ABC's The View, there was widespread belief that Trump would face consequences in relation to Stormy Daniels' legal battle with the erstwhile president.
Adult film actress Daniels has been embroiled in a years-long feud with Trump over her claim that they had sex in 2006. Daniels revealed that she had received $130,000 in hush money from Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
"Michael Avenatti [Daniels' former lawyer] came on The View like four times when I worked there," Meghan McCain recalled, "and he was sort of like saying [of] Stormy Daniels, 'This is going to be it.'"
"I feel like I've been told that before," she added of the likelihood of the impeached president facing justice. "And unfortunately, I will believe it when I see it. But of course, I would like to see consequences for immoral and corrupt behavior. I think any rational person would and does."
Trump has denied ever having a sexual encounter with Daniels. In March of this year, it was ruled that Daniels should pay Trump around $300,000 in attorneys' fees after a federal appeals court rejected her bid to overturn a lower court's decision in her failed defamation lawsuit against Trump.
Amid the attack on the Capitol, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California reportedly spoke with Trump by phone to urge him to call off his supporters.
Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Washington Republican, said that Trump responded to McCarthy by saying: "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."
Trump has condemned the 10 House Republicans who backed his impeachment, endorsing primary challengers to most of them. Four of those GOP lawmakers have decided not to seek re-election.
Despite Trump's and many of his allies' claims, no evidence has emerged corroborating allegations that the last presidential election was fraudulent. Dozens of election challenge lawsuits filed by the former president and his supporters failed in state and federal courts.
Even Trump-appointed judges dismissed the allegations. Audits and recounts across the country, including in states where the election was overseen by pro-Trump Republicans, have consistently reaffirmed Biden's win.
McCain, who spoke with Newsweek while promoting the hardcopy release of her book, Bad Republican, said that the Capitol riot will be one of the defining factors in Trump's legacy.
"His legacy will be one of division and conflict and January 6," she said. "But my family, and I feel like I can speak for all of my six siblings and my mother, in the sense like, we do not give a f*** what a Trump thinks of my family. I never will."
Bad Republican, which is currently available in audio format on Audible, will be available at all bookstores in hardcopy from April 26.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
