Kinzinger Terrifies Trump With Vow To Enforce Jan 6 Subpoena

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Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) has joined those from the House committee investigating the Capitol riot who are proclaiming that the panel will be enforcing subpoenas that it has issued. The question has come up after former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon indicated that he’d be refusing to comply with a subpoena from the committee for materials and testimony from him. In a letter from his legal representation outlining the position that Bannon was taking, former President Trump’s claims that what the committee is seeking fall under executive privilege were referenced — but the legitimacy of these executive privilege claims is dubious at best.

Meanwhile, Kinzinger commented as follows:

‘It evidently bears repeating: we will not be deterred by those who want to obstruct our efforts to get answers for the American people. Our democracy was attacked & we have to ensure what happened on January 6 can never happen again.’

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chairs the riot investigation committee, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who serves as its vice chair, have said the same sort of thing. In a joint statement this week, Thompson and Cheney said that they “will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock,” adding that they “will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral” for those, like Bannon, who might opt to defy subpoenas.

The committee’s interests involve, among other motives, understanding the scope of what went on at the White House — and what Trump was doing — in connection to the riot. Cheney has previously stated that investigators “must also know what happened every minute of that day in the White House — every phone call, every conversation, every meeting — leading up to, during, and after the attack.” Among those who’ve also been subpoenaed by the committee is former Trump campaign official Katrina Pierson, who has been reported to have served as a “liaison” of sorts between the Trump White House and efforts to hold a rally outdoors in Washington, D.C., on the day of the January riot.