Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Lead” that he believed former President Donald Trump was “guilty of a crime” for his actions surrounding the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Anchor Jake Tapper asked, “After all you have learned as a member of the committee, on a personal basis. So not speaking for the committee, but just you personally, do you think that Donald Trump has committed a prosecutable crime related to January 6th and the qnd the attempt to overturn the election?”
Kinzinger replied, “Look, I have to caveat it with that. I’m not a Justice Department official. They have different levels of standards. I think he’s guilty of a crime. I mean, look, he knew what he did. We’ve made that clear. He knew what was happening prior to January 6. He pressured the Justice Department officials to say, ‘Hey, just say the election was stolen and leave the rest to me.’ And the Republicans all need to put the stamp of approval on it. And then you look at the 187 minutes where he sat in his office. Not indecisive. I think indecisive would be, you know, probably complimentary to him. He was actively resisting pressure from his family and from his staff to stop that from happening. And when he finally saw that law enforcement had turned the tide and that the occupation wasn’t going to going to succeed, only then did he typically come out.
He added, “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.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.