On Wednesday (December 14), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — a member of the January 6 Committee — expressed his belief that former President Donald Trump is “absolutely guilty” of a crime for his role in the events surrounding the January 6 Capitol riot.
Speaking on CNN’s “The Lead,” Kinzinger told host Jake Tapper that he believes Trump is “guilty of a crime.”
He added that the former President “knew what he did,” asserting that the Committee had proven as much.
He pointed to Trump’s actions prior to January 6, including an attempt to pressure the Department of Justice “to say, ‘Hey, just say the election was stolen and leave the rest to me.'”
Kinzinger, who decided not to seek reelection in the midterms, also highlighted that there were three hours between the start of the riot and Trump’s lackluster effort to diffuse the situation by telling rioters to “go home.”
The Illinois Republican then emphasized that if Trump isn’t deemed guilty of some crime, that assertion will translate to Presidents being “above the law” and able to “do everything short of a coup,” provided it doesn’t succeed.
Kinzinger went on to say that describing Trump’s inaction for three hours as “indecisive” was “complementary.”
Instead, the outgoing lawmaker emphasized that during that period, Trump “actively” resisted pressure he was receiving from his staff and family to stop the insurrection. Kinzinger highlighted that it was only when law enforcement “turned the tide” on Rioters and it was apparent rioters would fail that Trump stepped up to intervene.
