- The Washington Times - Sunday, August 1, 2021

Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Sunday he is OK with issuing a subpoena to anyone with information about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and relevant interactions with former President Donald Trump — even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

“I would support subpoenas to anyone who can shed light on that,” Mr. Kinzinger, Illinois Republican, told ABC’s “This Week.” “If that’s the leader, that’s the leader.”

Mr. Kinzinger is an Illinois Republican who accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to sit on a House select committee investigating the attack inspired by Mr. Trump’s claims the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Mr. Kinzinger said it will be vital to document what lawmakers did at a rally that preceded the attack and what efforts — if any — Mr. Trump and his allies made to stop the Capitol breach.

“I want to know what they were doing because that’s going to be important,” Mr. Kinzinger said. “Did the president make any calls? And if he didn’t, why?”

“I think there are a lot of people around him who knew some things,” he added.

The congressman said lawmakers should see how far they get by calling in the people around Mr. Trump. He’s said that issuing a subpoena to the former president could turn into a circus.

Mr. Kinzinger said members of his party who have downplayed the investigation shouldn’t be afraid of what investigators find unless they were somehow culpable in the attack.

Mr. Kinzinger also slammed prominent Republicans who argued that Mrs. Pelosi was to blame for failing to prevent the Capitol breach. He said party allies are making outlandish claims solely to appease Mr. Trump, a voracious consumer of TV news.

“It doesn’t even matter if it doesn’t make any sense anymore,” Mr. Kinzinger said. “It’s insane.”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

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