Kinzinger dares Trump to charge him for Jan. 6 panel role: ‘Bring it’

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Monday welcomed a legal battle with President Trump over the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — hours after Trump claimed to nullify the preemptive pardons that former President Biden issued before leaving office.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday afternoon, Kinzinger dared Trump to bring charges against the committee members, who he said would “crush” the president in court.

“Look, Jake. It’s like, bring it on,” Kinzinger said. “Like, honestly. So, we had an election. I fought against Donald Trump. I wanted [former Vice President] Kamala Harris to win. Jan. 6 was a big thing, but America made a different choice. Fine. I’m ready to move on,” Kinzinger said.

“We made it very clear what happened on Jan. 6. America made a decision. And there is one person that’s obsessed about the 6th because he still has been basically deemed guilty in the court of public opinion, and that’s Donald Trump. And he can’t handle it. He obsesses about it,” Kinzinger added.

Trump has long targeted members of the committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol, the events leading up to it, and broader efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The committee — which included two Republicans — concluded that Trump was singularly responsible for the riot.

In December, after winning the 2024 election, Trump threatened to imprison the members of the select panel, prompting Biden to pardon them preemptively on his very last day in office.

Early Monday, Trump suggested those pardons were invalid because Biden used an autopen to sign them, which he said could open the way for criminal investigations into members of the Jan. 6 committee.

“Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” Trump added.

Kinzinger said he’s confident he would defeat the president in court.

“My reaction to him is like, you know what? Then bring it. Like, stop talking about it. Stop being all verbose. Stop pretending like you’re tough. Bring the charges, then, if you really want to do it because we will crush you in court,” he said. “And it’ll make me three times more effective against you.”