Kinzinger: Trump is ‘guilty of knowing what he did’ in lead-up to Jan. 6 attack

by Olafimihan Oshin - 06/19/22 10:54 AM ET

Greg Nash
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is seen during a Jan. 6 House Select Committee hearing on Thursday, June 16, 2022 focusing on the involvement of former Vice President Pence and his staff on Jan. 6.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on Sunday that former President Trump knows he is guilty for his actions ahead of the Jan 6, 2021, attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol.

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” moderator George Stephanopoulos asked Kinzinger, a member of the House select committee investigating the riot, if Trump should be prosecuted.

“I certainly think the president is guilty of knowing what he did, seditious conspiracy, being involved in these, you know, kind of different segments of pressuring the [Department of Justice], vice president, et cetera,” Kinzinger told Stephanopoulos.

“Obviously, you know, we’re not a criminal charges committee,” Kinzinger added. “So I want to be careful and specifically using that language, but I think what we’re presenting before the American people certainly would rise to a level of criminal involvement by a president and definitely failure of the the oath has to matter here, your personal demand to stand for the Constitution has to matter.”

“And if you have people that don’t regard that at all, there is no law in the world that we can pass. It’s going to make a bit of difference,” he added.

Kinzinger’s remarks come amid a slew of public hearings being held by the House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection in which pro-Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election. The Capitol attack resulted in the deaths of five people.

Kinzinger, who is one of two Republican lawmakers on the Jan 6. committee, also told Stephanopoulos that he’s not worried about the series of threats he and his family members received due to his participation in the House select committee.

“Look, I’m not worried personally,” Kinzinger said. “I don’t worry, but now that I have a wife and kids, of course it’s a little different. There are people that there was violence in the future, I’m going to tell you, and until we get a grip on telling people the truth, we can’t expect any differently.”