McCarthy backs Trump amid possible Jan. 6 charges: 'He told people to be peaceful'

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday defended President Donald Trump amid speculation he may face charges from special counsel Jack Smith's office related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Trump announced this week that he had received a target letter from Smith's office requiring him to appear before a grand jury in the ongoing Jan. 6 investigation, which the former president noted at the time "almost always means an Arrest and indictment."

McCarthy, for his part, sees a prospective indictment as dubious.

"I don’t see how he could be found criminally responsible. What criminal activity did he do? He told people to be peaceful," the California Republican said, according to The Hill.  The House speaker has generally maintained good relations with the former president, but has not endorsed his 2024 presidential campaign.

Smith has already charged Trump in relation to the seizure of documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate last year, a matter in which the former president maintains his innocence. Many of his supporters have blasted Smith's office as pursuing a political hit job.

News of a prospective second indictment from the special counsel's office has caused many of his rank-and-file supporters to again rally behind him, though some Republican leaders have been relatively silent on the matter.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, with whom Trump has repeatedly sparred, declined on Wednesday to address a prospective Jan. 6 indictment, telling reporters that he is "not going to comment on the various candidates for the presidency."

"How I felt about that I expressed at the time, but I’m not going to start getting into sort of critiquing the various candidates for president," he added.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.