Former Georgia Rep. Newt Gingrich warned members on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that they may face jail time if Republicans take back control of the lower chamber this year.
Mr. Gingrich, who served as House speaker from 1995 to 1999, said he expects Republicans to retaliate against Democrats if they return to power in November’s midterm elections.
“I think when you have a Republican Congress, this is all going to come crashing down,” Mr. Gingrich said Sunday on Fox News. “The wolves are going to find out that they’re now sheep, and they’re the ones who are in fact, I think, face a real risk of jail for the kinds of laws they’re breaking.”
Mr. Gingrich asserted similar points in a Newsweek op-ed last week encouraging Republican leadership to ensure all records and correspondence related to the Jan. 6 committee are preserved for a possible review in 2023.
“This is not about revenge,” Mr. Gingrich wrote. “This is about reinforcing the principle that in America, political wolves who viciously destroy their fellow Americans — and violate the rule of law to do so — will not be tolerated. This is about restoring the core principles of American self-government.”
The Jan. 6 investigation remains a polarizing effort in Congress.
SEE ALSO: Liz Cheney blasts Newt Gingrich over threats to jail Jan. 6 panel members
The committee is made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans. Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming, two anti-Trump Republicans, are the only GOP representatives on the panel.
Democrats view the committee and its probe as necessary to uncover the details of what occurred during the Capitol attack in 2021.
Republicans, however, see the panel as a partisan effort to go after their colleagues and supporters of former President Donald Trump, especially after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed two conservative candidates for the committee nominated by Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Republicans are expected to have a bullish year in the 2022 midterms and need a net gain of just five seats to take back the House.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
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