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.”
