House Leader Kevin McCarthy has some serious explaining to do.

After repeatedly denying reports that he called on former President Trump to resign following the Jan. 6th Capitol riot MSNBC host Rachel Maddow aired audio of a conversation between Reps. McCarthy, Liz Cheney, Steve Scalise, and Rep. Tom Emmer were also on the call where he can be heard saying he planned to ask Trump to resign.

According to The Washington Examiner:

“I’m seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight. I haven’t talked to him in a couple of days,” McCarthy said in response to a question from Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming about whether Trump might resign as the impeachment resolution was set to pass.

“The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign,” McCarthy said in the recording.

“I’ve had it with this guy. What he did was unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it,” he added near the end of the conversation.

McCarthy’s office denied the reports that the California Republican said this. “McCarthy never said he’d call Trump to say he should resign,” said Mark Bednar, a spokesman for McCarthy. When asked again whether McCarthy had said he would push Trump to resign, Bednar again said he had not said that, Maddow revealed during her show.

Listen to the audio HERE.

[jwplayer U3b7tNEI-lzmB6GEw]

Now the question remains of who leaked the audio over a year later? While the obvious suspect is Liz Cheney on Friday her office released a brief statement denying the Congresswoman released the audio.

“The select committee has asked Kevin McCarthy to speak with us about these events, but he has so far declined,” Cheney’s spokesperson said Friday, referring to the Jan. 6 committee. “Rep. Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how the reporters got it.”

Do you believe her?