As the House Select Committee investigating January 6 prepares to reveal its full report and criminal referrals, Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger (R) said that former President Donald Trump is “guilty of a crime.”
Kinzinger’s charge came during an appearance on CNN on Wednesday, where he told host Jake Tapper: “we have presented … a very compelling story over the summer, which is, it is not just the day of January 6 that mattered. What mattered is what led to it, and frankly, the fact that not much has really changed since”.
Regarding the criminal referrals, Kinzinger said they will be presented on Monday during a panel hearing.
Asked if Donald Trump is guilty of a crime in relation to his actions surrounding January 6, he said “I have to caveat it with I am not a Justice Department official. They have different levels of standards. I think that he is guilty of a crime”.
“He knew what was happening prior to January 6,” Kinzinger said of the former president. “He pressured the Justice Department officials to ‘just say the election was stolen and leave the rest to me, and the Republicans. All you do to do is put the stamp of approval on it’. And then you look at 187 minutes where he sat in his office, not indecisive. I think indecisive would be, probably complimentary to him. He was actively resisting pressure from his family and from his staff to stop that from happening.”
He added: “And when he finally saw that law enforcement had turned the tide and that the occupation wasn’t going to succeed, only then did he tepidly come out. I think he is absolutely guilty. If he is not guilty of some kind of a crime, I mean, what we’ve basically said is presidents are above the law, and they can do everything short of a coup as long as it doesn’t succeed.
Kinzinger also noted that “a lot” of the Members of Congress who could be referred to the ethics committee “will be leading investigations themselves and wondering why people won’t react to subpoenas.”
The outgoing lawmaker lamented not being able to pursue “a deeper investigation” because Republicans will take over the House Committees in January.
“Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to pursue much deeper because of the end of the term,” he added. “But I do think, again, the Justice Department is probably looking at what they need to look at and, I wouldn’t feel too comfortable if I was somebody going for martial law, a United States congressman calling for martial law.”
Watch:
Adam Kinzinger on why Donald Trump is “guilty of a crime”. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/7C84wwjtbT
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) December 15, 2022
