The Republican said he fears for the future if Trump is not charged in the Jan. 6 riot Republicans

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Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger said in an interview on Sunday that he believes the Department of Justice will do the right thing and file criminal charges against Donald Trump for his role in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 .

I think he will be impeached, and I think he should be, Kinzinger said on CNNs State of the Union political talk show on Sunday morning.

Last month, the House select committee investigating the attack, on which Kinzinger sits, voted to refer the former president to the justice department on charges of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to make a false statement and inciting, aiding or abetting an insurrection.

The recommendations relate to the role of former US presidents in encouraging the insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington DC as thousands of his extremist supporters seek to prevent Congressional certification of Joe Bidens victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

If he’s not guilty of a crime, then frankly I fear for the future of this country because now every next president can say, Hey, here’s the bar. And the bar is, do whatever you can to stay in power, Kinzinger said.

Kinzinger was one of two Republicans on the Jan. 6 Democratic-led select committee, which concluded its investigation ahead of dissolution and the new Congress beginning Tuesday, when Republicans will assume the majority in the House following the midterm elections last November.

Kinzinger chaired one of the committee’s June sessions that focused on pressure Trump or his allies allegedly put on the justice department as he tried to persuade them to reverse his 2020 defeat by falsely claiming the election was damaged by widespread fraud.

He has represented Illinois in the House of Representatives since 2011 and was speaking following the last committee sessions held and on the eve of his departure from Congress.

Kinzinger also criticized Republican leaders for maintaining Trumps influence on the US political landscape, by downplaying the importance of the Capitol attack and Trump’s incitement to riot, and often supporting lies. by Trump about the elections being rigged in favor of the Democrats.

He blamed powerful House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who is currently in the running to become the new speaker of the House, as the reason the former president remains a political force.

He’s the reason why Donald Trump is still a factor, Kinzinger said. He is the reason why some of the crazy elements of the House still exist.

McCarthy, he said, visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida residence shortly after the Jan. 6 insurrection. That show of mutual support at a crucial moment revived Trump’s relationship with politics, which reinforces the right. In McCarthy’s journey, he said, Republicans went from not knowing what to do about Trump to bitterly defending him.

Donald Trump should consider Kevin McCarthy his best friend because Donald Trump is alive today in politics because of Kevin McCarthy, Kinzinger added.

He noted that then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans failed to convict Trump of his historic second impeachment for inciting insurrection.

The Republican party is not the future of this country unless it corrects itself, he said. If you imagine a successful America in 20 years, it’s not going to be an America based on the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene or some of these radicals, he added, referring to Georgia’s far-right congressman, who sympathizes with QAnon theory. of conspiracy, and his kind.

As the 2024 presidential election looms, Kinzinger said he fears for American democracy, as perhaps a third of the country believes the last election was stolen from Trump.

The congressman said he has no intention of running for the Republican presidential nomination. But he admitted he would be happy to run against Trump, who in November declared his candidacy in 2024.

He stood up and just lied. He tells lies. People love it because it’s entertaining but eventually people care about their country. So, no, my intention is not to run in 2024. But it will be fun, he said.

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