Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) expressed concern on Monday that Republican members of Congress could be charged in connection with the evidence presented to the House's Jan. 6 select committee.
During an appearance on Newsmax, Gaetz claimed that the committee is part of a plot to generate criminal referrals to the Justice Department.
"I think the entire purpose of the Jan. 6 committee is to create a series of criminal referrals to the Biden Justice Department," he insisted. "And I think [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy is the lead target, unfortunately."
According to Gaetz, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi excluded one of the Republican Party's "best players" when she refused to allow Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to participate in the committee.
Gaetz went on to call for McCarthy to remove Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) from their respective committees because they have accepted Pelosi's invitation to participate in the Jan. 6 committee.
"I really do believe that the end goal of the Jan. 6 committee is to create a series of criminal referrals," he said. "And remember during the Russia hoax, a lot of the criminal process occurred not as a result of any underlying federal criminal law but instead as a result of these process crimes."
"Kevin McCarthy better hope he never deleted an email or forwarded something to where it wasn't saved," Gaetz added. "Otherwise, there's going to be an effort to use process crimes to try to jam up the Republican leadership."
Gaetz is also reportedly being investigated by the Justice Department in connection with sex trafficking. McCarthy has so far refused to removed Gaetz from his committee assignments.