Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said that Trump did nothing during the 1/6 attack but gleefully watch TV.
Video:
Transcript via CBS’s Face The Nation:
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, 187 minutes.
You’re leading this hearing. You know what you can present at this point. Can you at least tell us if you filled in the blanks of who the President was actually speaking with, why there weren’t phone records, for example, of phone calls he may have placed during that time period?
REPRESENTATIVE ADAM KINZINGER: We have filled in the blanks.
I can’t necessarily say that the motives behind every piece of information we know we’ll be able to explain. But this is going to open people’s eyes in a big way.
The reality is — I will give you this preview — the president didn’t do very much but gleefully watch television during this time frame. We’re going to present a lot more than that.
But I could only imagine, as — I mean, I knew what I felt like as a U.S. Congressman. If I was a president, sworn to defend the Constitution — that includes the legislative branch — watching this on television, I know I would have been going ballistic to try to save the Capitol. He did quite the opposite.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The president didn’t do anything?
REPRESENTATIVE ADAM KINZINGER: The president didn’t do anything.
And we’re going to fill those blanks in. And if the American people watch this, particularly — I say this to my fellow Republicans — watch this with an open mind. And is this the kind of strong leader you really think you deserve?
Trump watching television during his presidency was not uncommon, but Trump gleefully watching television while his own supporters are engaged in an act of domestic terrorism is a violation of his oath of office and could give Trump criminal liability for refusing to act while people were dying at the Capitol.
Kinzinger makes it clear that the Committee knows what Trump was up to while the Capitol was under attack.
The 1/6 Committee appears to have Trump nailed, and Thursday could be a terrible night for the failed former president.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association