Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Sunday indicated the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol would use its subpoena power to compel “a lot of people” to testify.
“I would expect to see a significant amount of subpoenas,” the Illinois Republican said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“It’s going to be a thorough investigation for sure,” he added.
Kinzinger, who along with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is serving on the committee to the frustration of many in their own party, wouldn’t go into further details on who the panel could subpoena, but said, “We want to do this expeditiously. … What led up to it, what really happened and what happened in the aftermath.”
On the potential for subpoenaing prominent Republicans including former President Donald Trump and those who spoke to him on Jan. 6, such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Kinzinger said: “I would support subpoenas to anyone that can shed light on that. If that’s the leader, that’s the leader.”
“I want to know what the president was doing every moment that day. … I want to know if the National Guard took five or six hours to get to Capitol Hill. Did the president make calls? If he didn’t, why?” Kinzinger said.
The congressman largely deferred on what would happen in the event a subpoena is rejected, saying it would likely be a matter for the committee lawyers.
“If anybody is scared of this investigation, I ask you, what are you afraid of? If you think it wasn’t a big deal, you should allow this to go forward,” Kinzinger said. “We may not have to talk to Donald Trump. … If he has unique information that’s one thing. There’s a lot of people around him that know something.”
On Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a member of Republican leadership, blaming Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California for the attack, Kinzinger said: “To me it’s mind-blowing and shows the desperation to derail this. The speaker and I don’t get along on a lot of things. On this, we do. Blaming what happened on Jan. 6 on the security posture, that’s like blaming someone for being a victim of crime.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Sunday that Pelosi was wrong to keep Jordan and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) from serving on the select committee, while maintaining that she blamed Trump for instigating the Capitol attack.
“I do not think it was right for the speaker to decide which Republicans should be on the committee. Normally you have a select committee. The minority leader and the speaker get to pick the members,” Collins said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
When host Jake Tapper pointed out that Jordan was likely a material witness to the day’s events, Collins responded: “There were many communications with President Trump that day and, look, as you know, I believe that while the rioters are primarily responsible for what happened, there’s no doubt in my mind that President Trump helped instigate and motivate the rioters and that’s one reason I voted to impeach him.”
“The hallmark of our democracy is the peaceful transfer of power, and for anyone, the rioters, the president, anyone to try to interfere with the Electoral College count is completely unacceptable,” she added.