Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said U.S. Capitol leadership – and not President Donald Trump – was to blame for the events of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Watch the clip in the video player above.
The congressman directed his remarks to the Capitol police officers and other law enforcement members in attendance for Thursday’s hearing on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and role in the Jan. 6 attack.
“I can tell you, Gentlemen, that the fault does not lie with Donald Trump,” he said, adding it lay with the officers’ leaders.
The congressman’s remarks prompted a response from at least one of the officers, who could be heard saying, “Go f**k yourself.”
WATCH: Jack Smith explains why Trump was the only defendant charged in Jan. 6 case
The verbal spat prompted Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to let the congressman continue his remarks.
“The point is, you were all unprepared to deal with that day,” Nehls said, shouting. “It was their fault, folks. It was their fault.”
The hearing is an opportunity for the career prosecutor to publicly offer his inside perspective on the investigations, which both led to unprecedented indictments. Both were scuttled once it was clear that Trump would return to the Oval Office; Department of Justice policy prevents prosecution of a sitting president.
WATCH: ‘I stand by’ my decision to prosecute Trump, Jack Smith says in House testimony
Republicans and the president have accused Smith of pursuing a politically motivated case against the president. Trump has denied wrongdoing while attacking Smith, calling him a “criminal” who ought to be investigated and “put in prison.”
Smith defended his investigations in an hourslong closed-door meeting with lawmakers in December, saying he said he had “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” of what his investigations laid out. He’s denied accusations of bias.
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