Kinzinger was speaking with CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “New Day” after it emerged that Marc Short, the former vice president Mike Pence’s chief of staff, had acknowledged that he had testified last week before a grand jury looking into the uprising.
Short is the most well-known witness known to have testified in the jail inquiry into the attack on the US Capitol as a result of his involvement in the investigation, as CNN previously reported, citing a source familiar with the situation. His evidence reveals that the scope of the prosecution’s inquiry—which now goes beyond the rioters who broke into the Capitol—includes the Trump White House.
Even though Adam Kinzinger claimed on Tuesday that he was unaware of the Justice Department’s request for Short or the specifics of its inquiry, Kinzinger claimed that Short was aware of Pence’s mentality and that under oath, one can be pretty much convinced that he’ll speak the truth.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department broadened its investigation beyond the rioters who broke into the Capitol to include efforts to rig the Electoral College vote count as well as funding and organization for the political event that served as a prelude to the riot.
Adam Kinzinger Recognizes The Threat Democracy Is In America
The grand jury heard testimony from “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander in June, and the Justice Department has issued several subpoenas to Republican operatives connected to the effort to elect “alternative” electors.
Adam Kinzinger called the committee’s working relationship with the DOJ “good,” but he wouldn’t specify what information the panel is sharing with the division beyond stating they are collaborating in “some areas.”
Keilar also questioned Adam Kinzinger over the unnamed Trump White House security staffer who testified before the committee on January 6 that Pence’s Secret Service unit was terrified for their life, even though Short had previously told CNN he was “skeptical” of that description.
