Washington — Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a member of the House special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Sunday that the panel’s next hearing will “open people’s eyes in a big way” as lawmakers detail the what former President Donald Trump was doing as a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.
In an interview with “Face the Nation,” Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, said the panel “filled in the blanks” about what Trump was doing in the White House in the 187 minutes from the time his supporters descended on the building. Capitol by the time he issued his first public response to the attack.
“I can’t necessarily say that we’re going to be able to explain the reasoning behind every piece of information that we know, but it’s going to open people’s eyes in a big way,” Kinzinger said. “The reality is, I’ll give you this preconceived notion that the president didn’t do much, but he was happy to watch television during that period of time.”
Kinzinger called on the American people, and in particular his fellow Republicans, to “watch this with an open mind” and ask, “Is this a strong leader that you really think you deserve?”
“I knew how I felt as a US congressman,” he said. “If I were a president sworn to protect the constitution, which includes the legislature, watching this on TV, I know I would be going crazy trying to save the Capitol. He did the exact opposite. The president didn’t do something.”
The next select committee hearing is scheduled to take place during prime time Thursday, with Kinzinger and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., taking leading roles. The hearing will be the group’s eighth, and Kinzinger said the commission may have more when it issues its final report.
He noted, however, that the select committee could schedule additional hearings if its members receive information they believe should be shared with the public.
House investigators also continue to meet behind closed doors with witnesses, including former White House adviser Pat Cipollone earlier this month and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne on Friday. Byrne, a Trump ally, was among those present at the Dec. 18 meeting at the White House, which was described as “unhinged.”
Kinzinger said the committee is still debating whether to call former Vice President Mike Pence to testify – he said he would personally like to – and whether there is value in asking Trump himself to appear before investigators.
“I’m not sure we need them physically there because we get a lot of information,” he said. “Donald Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t mind not telling the truth, let’s put it mildly. He lies all the time. I wouldn’t let him lie under oath, so I’m not sure what the value is there.”
As part of its ongoing investigation, the committee on Thursday issued a subpoena to the U.S. Secret Service for text messages related to the events of Jan. 6, after the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general told lawmakers that the agency deleted messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6. Inspector General Joseph Kufari told congressional committees that his office was notified that the messages were deleted as part of a “device replacement program,” although the deletions came after the watchdog requested the messages as part of an investigation of the Secret Service’s response to the Capitol attack.
Kinzinger said the agency indicated it would meet Tuesday’s deadline to comply with the subpoena, but said it was unclear whether the messages still existed.
“It’s pretty crazy that the Secret Service would actually erase everything related to one of the most infamous days in American history, especially as it relates to the role of the Secret Service,” he said.
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