Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) may be leaving Congress soon, but we're still stuck with him being in office for another year then. That means more out of him about January 6 and his role on the select committee, which he was asked about on Sunday's episode of ABC's "This Week."
In a discussion about text messages former White House Chief of State Mark Meadows turned over to the select committee, host Jonathan Karl asked Kinzinger "do you think that some of your Republican colleagues bear direct responsibility for that riot?"
Kinzinger responded "it's possible," before adding that "I'm not ready to kind of go to that point yet, because I want to let the facts dictate it."
Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl “it’s possible" some of his GOP colleagues in Congress are responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 19, 2021
"I will tell you, yes, there are more texts out there we haven’t released.” https://t.co/DrxF56htoo pic.twitter.com/mIwF0Z9VOE
Karl pushed back though, encouraging Kinzinger even. "So, let me ask you about that, I know no decision on this has been made, so I’m asking your opinion to be clear. Do you think your colleagues, some of your colleagues should be subpoenaed if they won't do it voluntarily, should be subpoenaed to testify before the committee," he asked next.
Kinzinger was more forthcoming in such a response. " Yeah, absolutely, and, you know, I don't -- the question is House rules and speech and debate, you know, all those nuances, but yes, I think if you had anything to do with what happened on January 6th and I think more importantly, even on January 6th, is that the events and the nuances that led to January 6th," he said.
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Rep. Adam Kinzinger tells @jonkarl that he “absolutely” thinks his colleagues should be subpoenaed to testify before the House committee on Jan. 6 if necessary.
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 19, 2021
“Nobody—member of Congress, former president—nobody in America is above the law.” https://t.co/MfsZEjNKU8 pic.twitter.com/rHpGf5aoAZ
That includes subpoenaing former President Donald Trump "if we need it, yes," Kinzinger said when prompted.
Kinzinger went after House Minority Leader Kevin McCathy directly, likely solidifying the label that Kinzinger wears as a RINO:
Kevin McCarthy, on the other hand, has not said a word about anything, except for that Donald Trump is probably the greatest president to ever exist. And Kevin McCarthy himself I think made Donald Trump relevant again when two weeks after January 6th or so, he went back down to Mar-a-Lago and brought him back to political life by putting his arm around him, and taking that picture, and basically sending the signal to the rest of the Republicans that were pretty quiet at this moment, that we got to get back on the Trump train.
Kinzinger left out an important detail, though, which is that McCarthy did say on the House floor in January 13 floor speech that Trump "bears responsibility" for the riot on Capitol Hill, which he called "violent" and "un-democratic, un-American, and criminal." He also condemned violence as antithetical to constitutional rights of free speech.
It's also worth emphasizing, especially because Karl and Kinzinger did not share this crucial detail with viewers, that the select committee doctored text messages, as Matt has covered.
This pertinent information was also left out during Kinzinger's appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," during which Kinzinger emphasized another point he made on "This Week."
In both appearances, Kinzinger claimed that people likely thought the January 6 riot was caused by Antifa. On "State of the Union," Kinzinger offered that "I also think it's important, particularly with the FOX News side of things, is, they went on TV that night, some of those people, and said, this may be Antifa, this may be the FBI, and in the last 10 months have continued that narrative."
As McCarthy also mentioned in that January 13 floor speech, though, he made clear in addressing how "sone say the riots were caused by Antifa" that "there is absolutely no evidence of that and conservatives should be the first to say so."
Kinzinger took further aim at McCarthy during his "State of the Union" segment when he offered that "I mean, what's Kevin McCarthy been doing the last year? Basically, whatever Marjorie Taylor Greene tells him to do."
About his fellow Republicans, Kinzinger claimed that "non-serious legislators" and "these bomb throwers" now "basically run the Republican Party."
“What’s [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy been doin’ the last year? Basically whatever Marjorie Taylor Greene tells him to do.”
— The Recount (@therecount) December 19, 2021
— @RepKinzinger(R-IL) slams “bomb throwers" who "basically run the Republican Party.” pic.twitter.com/VOjyHLroWE
It's also worth noting that McCarthy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have had their own feuds. In a statement from May 25, 2021, the Republican leader publicly called out the congresswoman by name for comparing mask mandates with the Holocaust, saying "Marjorie is wrong" and calling her comparison "appalling."
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