Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) argued if former President Donald Trump knowingly allowed the events of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol to happen, “He needs to be held accountable.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper pointed out a criminal statute that states, “Whoever corruptly… obstructs, influences, impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined… or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.”
He asked Kinzinger, “Do you believe that Donald Trump committed a crime, and is that something the committee is explicitly investigating?”
Kinzinger explained, “I don’t want to go there, yet, to say do I believe he has? I think that’s, obviously, a pretty big thing to say.”
He continued, “We want to know though and I think we’ll, by the end of our investigation, and by the time our report is out, have a pretty good idea.”
Kinzinger stressed, “Nobody is above the law. And if the president knowingly allowed what happened on January 6 to happen, and in fact was giddy about it, and that violates a criminal statute, he needs to be held accountable for that.”
The Republican told Tapper he has “a lot of questions about what the president was up to.”
During an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” Kinzinger said the committee would subpoena Trump if they felt it was necessary.
“Nobody should be above the law, but we also recognize we can get the information without him at this point, and, obviously, when you subpoena the former president, that comes with a whole kind of, you know, circus environment,” Kinzinger said. “But if we need him, we’ll do it.”
In a Twitter thread earlier this month, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) updated Americans on the committee’s progress.
“The Committee has already met with nearly 300 witnesses; we hear from four more key figures in the investigation today. We are conducting multiple depositions and interviews every week,” Cheney said.
She continued, “We have received exceptionally interesting and important documents from a number of witnesses, including Mark Meadows. He has turned over many texts from his private cell phone from January 6th.”
We have received exceptionally interesting and important documents from a number of witnesses, including Mark Meadows. He has turned over many texts from his private cell phone from January 6th. (2/4)
— Rep. Liz Cheney (@RepLizCheney) December 9, 2021
Last week, the House voted to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress.
