Rep Adam Kinzinger says he believes Trump is ‘guilty of a crime’ ahead of Jan 6 criminal referrals

“If he is not guilty of some kind of a crime, I mean, what we’ve basically said is presidents are above the law,” says the Illinois Republican

Outgoing Republican Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger has said that he thinks former President Donald Trump is “guilty of a crime” as the House Select Committee investigating January 6 prepares to reveal its crime referrals and full report.

Appearing on CNN on Wednesday, Mr Kinzinger said that “we have presented ... a very compelling story over the summer, which is, it is not just the day of January 6 that mattered. What mattered is what led to it, and frankly, the fact that not much has really changed since”.

Regarding the full report, Mr Kinzinger said “we will go into some more detail”.

“I think we are going to have a very fulsome story to tell with recommendations, which is our job. And now, really, the torch to an extent is passed to the Justice Department as it appears they’re investigating as well,” he added.

The case for criminal referrals will be presented on Monday during a panel hearing.

Mr Kinzinger said the work of the committee will “echo through the history books”.

“It is going to be something that in 10, 20 years, we look back on the work of this committee,” he said. “We know the facts of what happened on January 6, and anybody out there who believes in the conspiracies today, their kids and grandkids will not, and in fact will be embarrassed that anybody ever believed it.”

“And I think that’s due largely to the work we’ve been able to do on this committee,” he added.

When Mr Kinzinger was asked if Mr Trump is guilty of a crime in relation to his actions surrounding January 6, he said “I have to caveat it with I am not a Justice Department official. They have different levels of standards. I think that he is guilty of a crime”.

“He knew what was happening prior to January 6,” Mr Kinzinger said of Mr Trump. “He pressured the Justice Department officials to ‘just say the election was stolen and leave the rest to me, and the Republicans. All you do to do is put the stamp of approval on it’. And then you look at 187 minutes where he sat in his office, not indecisive. I think indecisive would be, probably complimentary to him. He was actively resisting pressure from his family and from his staff to stop that from happening.”

Mr Kinzinger continued: “And when he finally saw that law enforcement had turned the tide and that the occupation wasn’t going to succeed, only then did he tepidly come out. I think he is absolutely guilty. If he is not guilty of some kind of a crime, I mean, what we’ve basically said is presidents are above the law, and they can do everything short of a coup as long as it doesn’t succeed.

Asked if there’ll be other referrals, such as to the House Ethics Committee, for members who argued that martial law should be imposed and that voting machines be seized, Mr Kinzinger told CNN: “I mean, certainly, if they resisted the subpoena, that’s the kind of thing we’re going to consider.”

“We’re coming to the end of the term here. Republicans are going to be in the majority. But I think it’s important to make a standard, which is, ‘look, you are in a body here, an investigate body at this point. And we’re asking for information from you, and you didn’t obey it. You didn’t follow through on that’,” he added.

Mr Kinzinger noted that “a lot” of the Members of Congress who could be referred to the ethics committee “will be leading investigations themselves and wondering why people won’t react to subpoenas. It’s a power that we have that’s important”.

“Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to pursue much deeper because of the end of the term,” he added. “But I do think, again, the Justice Department is probably looking at what they need to look at and, I wouldn’t feel too comfortable if I was somebody going for martial law, a United States congressman calling for martial law.”