Kinzinger says holding Trump in criminal contempt ‘a bridge we cross when we get there’

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, on Sunday said it would be possible to hold former President Trump in criminal contempt if he doesn’t respond to the panel’s subpoena.

“Look, that’s a bridge we cross if we have to get there,” Kinzinger said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“He’s made it clear he has nothing to hide, is what he says, so he should come in on the day we asked him to come into. If he pushes off beyond that, we’ll figure out what to do next,” he said of the former president.

One of just two Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee, Kinzinger noted the panel, which voted unanimously to subpoena Trump last week, is running up against its expiration date at the end of the congressional year and wants to speak to the former president as it wraps up its investigation.

“What happened on January 6 was terrible. What led up to that and what happened since is what I’m more worried about,” Kinzinger said.

Some on the committee have discussed putting forward a criminal referral for the former president, but Kinzinger on Sunday punted the question.

“I think the question of criminal referral really doesn’t have much of a point because obviously DOJ is moving forward on this anyway. It’s not a mandate, but I think it would be- we’re certainly going to address that issue and we’ll have more to come on that when we make that decision.”

Kinzinger also dismissed talk that Trump may be willing to testify live before the committee.

“Look at the former secret service members who claim that Cassidy Hutchison was lying when she obviously was not, about overhearing that conversation of what happened in the limo,” he said, referring to the former Mark Meadows aide who testified before the committee this summer.

“They claimed they’d come in and speak to us. They won’t do it. They have yet to come in. So I’ll only address that when we know for sure whether or not the President has tried to push to come in and talk to us live,” Kinzinger said.

–Updated at 10:55 a.m.

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