Kevin McCarthy Denies Punching GOP House Rep. Tim Burchett in the Kidney: 'I Don’t Know What You’re Talking About'
Ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied punching GOP House Rep. Tim Burchett in the kidney this week.
Ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied punching GOP House Rep. Tim Burchett in the kidney this week in a House office building hallway, RadarOnline.com can report.
In the latest development to come after McCarthy allegedly struck Burchett on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the former House Speaker denied that the incident transpired.
McCarthy allegedly struck Burchett on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
According to McCarthy, he “didn’t punch anybody” – although he did claim that their “shoulders hit” as McCarthy passed the Tennessee congressman.
“I would not hit him in the kidney,” the ousted House Speaker told reporters after the alleged incident occurred. “HC5, you’re all down there, right? Not a very big hallway.”
“So I’m walking out,” he continued. “I guess a reporter was interviewing Burchett or something, I guess our shoulders hit because Burchett runs up to me after. I didn’t know what he was talking about. Some reporters asked me. I did not run and hit the guy, I did not kidney punch him, or anything like that.”
McCarthy denied the allegations once again after a reporter asked whether he may have “shoved” Burchett in the HC5 hallway on Tuesday.
Burchett chased McCarthy down and demanded an explanation.
“No! We were walking through. You were at HC5, right?” McCarthy explained. “You guys line up along the way there, it was Bruce Westerman and I walking out, he must have been interviewing with someone, I didn’t know it was him or someone.”
“I guess our elbows hit as I walked by,” he said. “I didn’t punch anybody. If I would hit somebody, they would know I hit them.”
McCarthy denied the kidney punch accusations a third time when confronted by Burchett immediately after the alleged attack.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the ex-House Speaker told the Tennessee House Rep. “I didn’t even know something transpired.”
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"If I would hit somebody, they would know I hit them," McCarthy said.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, McCarthy allegedly dealt Burchett a “clean shot to the kidneys” on Tuesday afternoon after a GOP conference meeting.
Burchett claimed that McCarthy “sucker punched” him while the Tennessee House Republican was giving an interview, and some sources speculated that McCarthy was still bitter towards Burchett for voting him out as House Speaker last month.
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"He's a bully with $17 million dollars and a security detail," Burchett told reporters after the alleged sucker punch occurred. "He's the type of guy that when you're a kid would throw a rock over the fence and run home and hide behind his momma's skirt."
"That's not the way we handle things in East Tennessee,” Burchett added. “If we have a problem with somebody, I'm going to look them in the eye and talk to them.”
Burchett mocked the ousted House Speaker and claimed that McCarthy "chose to do what he did."
"There’s 435 congressmen. I was one of eight that voted against him. That hallway, there is plenty of room, and you can walk forward side by side,” the Tennessee congressman concluded. “He chose to do what he did.”
Several House correspondents, including NPR’s Claudia Grisales and CNN’s Manu Raji, reported witnessing the startling exchange between the two feuding House Republicans.
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