During an appearance on CBS’s Face The Nation with host Margaret Brennan this weekend, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who is a member of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, shared a preview of what the panel will cover during its primetime hearing planned for this Thursday.
Asked about critical minutes on January 6 when Trump wasn’t even making a show of pushing back on the violence as it unfolded, Kinzinger said Sunday:
‘We have filled in the blanks. I can’t necessarily say that the motives behind every piece of information we know we’ll be able to explain, but this is going to open people’s eyes in a big way. The reality is… the president didn’t do very much but gleefully watch television during this time-frame. We’re going to present a lot more than that… I knew what I felt like as a U.S. Congressman. If I was a president, sworn to defend the Constitution — [and] that includes the legislative branch, watching this on television, I know I would’ve been going ballistic to try to save the Capitol. He did quite the opposite… The president didn’t do anything, and we’re going to fill those blanks in.’
Kinzinger will be helping lead this Thursday’s hearing, which will follow last week’s public hearing where the committee went over issues including the involvement of extremist groups in the riot. There may be an additional series of public hearings beyond this Thursday’s proceedings; apparently, there’s definitely going to be at least one more public hearing when the panel unveils its later final report. The riot panel will eventually be releasing all its numerous interview transcripts. In the meantime, Kinzinger also indicated during his time on CBS this weekend he’d be personally interested in hearing from Mike Pence in the course of the committee’s probe, although it’s unclear whether such might ever actually happen. The committee’s underlying probe is continuing as it conducts its public hearings. To show Trump failed to take action during critical moments on January 6 — as Kinzinger spoke to this weekend — would help with further establishing his corrupt intent. Watch Kinzinger’s comments below:
The House riot panel recently subpoenaed records from the Secret Service amid concerns about potential losses of texts from the week of January 6. Kinzinger acknowledged there have been conflicting accounts about what was actually done with texts from the Secret Service; the agency said after initial reports of erased messages that materials relevant to a connected investigation were actually preserved. The riot committee gave the Secret Service a short-term deadline for responding to the subpoena, and Kinzinger indicated the agency provided initial indications of compliance — but by Tuesday, the deadline, the situation will be clearer. “From what we understand, they’ve said we’ll meet this deadline,” Kinzinger explained of the Secret Service reaction to the subpoena. Trump is also facing legal vulnerability from an ongoing criminal investigation in Georgia by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis into attempts by Trump and certain allies of his to undercut the Georgia election outcome. Willis recently subpoenaed Trump goons including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
