FILE PHOTO: Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) speaks during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 10, 2021. Ting Shen/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Ben Burke Producer

Politics

A Second GOP Trump critic appointed to Jan. 6 riot investigation

Jul 26, 2021

Ben Burke Producer

By Ben Burke (Producer)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the appointment of a second Republican to sit on the investigative committee for the Jan. 6th riot at the Capitol. This after she rejected two of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s picks for the committee. The raw video above shows Minority Leader McCarthy’s reaction on Monday to the announcement.

“Today, I am announcing the appointment of Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran and Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard, to serve on the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement. “He brings great patriotism to the Committee’s mission: to find the facts and protect our Democracy,”

In a statement of his own, Rep. Kinzinger said he “humbly accepted” the appointment. “Self-governance requires accountability and responsibility. My faith requires the same of me, truth is necessary for order, and that’s what I will do,” Rep. Kinzinger said. “Let me be clear, I’m a Republican dedicated to conservative values, but I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution—and while this is not the position I expected to be in or sought out, when duty calls, I will always answer.”

Kinzinger is one of 10 House Republicans to vote for former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment. And, he is one of two Republicans who voted to form a special commission to investigate the riot. The other is Rep. Liz Cheney, who is also on the commission.

Last week, McCarthy called the committee a “sham” and withdrew his three picks after Pelosi rejected Representatives Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio. In a Sunday statement, McCarthy said Pelosi “structured this select committee to satisfy her political objectives”.

“Lost in much of the news coverage is the fact that the Senate has already conducted bipartisan investigations that should serve as a roadmap for the House,” McCarthy said. “Speaker Pelosi’s departure from this serious-minded approach has destroyed the select committee’s credibility. The U.S. Capitol and the men and women who protect it suffered a massive leadership failure. We must make sure that never happens again and that is what Republicans will be focused on.”

The committee is set to meet for the first time Tuesday. They will hear from police officers who battled the rioters.

Reporter: “Why do you think that Speaker Pelosi did not add Jim Jordan to the committee? What do you think that was?”

Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader: “Politics.”

Reporter: “And are you upset at the speaker, should she have made a different choice for the country and for the committee?”

Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader: “Oh, yeah. In the history of Congress never has a speaker ever done that. (inaudible) She’s broken Congress. I mean, and then it just makes the whole committee a sham so the outcome is predetermined. You won’t get to the bottom of it.”

Reporter: “And in your mind, you don’t think it’s fair because of that?”

Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader: “No, not in my mind. Probably in most all Americans’ minds.”

Reporter: “The first select committee meeting is tomorrow. What’s your take on the witnesses that you’ve seen so far? Are there witnesses that you want, that you think the Republicans should be pushing to have, you should be pushing to have?”

Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader: “Well, if you had the five Republicans on there, you’d be able to have questions asked, witnesses come in. Now it’s just all predetermined.”

Reporter: “And, you know, some Republicans have been saying that the GOP should play ball on this committee.”

Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader: “Really? Who is that, Adam and Liz? Aren’t they kind of like Pelosi Republicans?”

Reporter: “If you read what a lot of people are saying in the party, they think, like with Pelosi…”

Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader: “Have you been to my conference? I don’t hear that. Have you been out to the country? Have you talked to independents, too? No, what they really want to see is something that is fair. No one thinks this is fair, no one thinks it’s going to get to the truth, unfortunately. I mean, six months? How can the Senate have two committees bipartisan go study this and have a hearing, have the report already come back, and just continue to play politics with it? It’s disrespectful to the nation. Her own chair of this committee objected to President (George W.) Bush’s electoral vote, is suing the president currently, believes that Republican senators are equal to terrorists. I don’t see how on the basis of this report would ever come back that anyone would give it credibility.”