One of the two Republican members of the House January 6 select committee says there may not be much point to compelling former president Donald Trump to give evidence before the nine-member panel because Mr Trump would most likely lie, even under oath.
Speaking on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger said Mr Trump’s well-documented propensity for falsehoods significantly limits his utility as a witness.
“Donald Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t mind not telling the truth. Let’s just put that mildly. He lies all the time. I wouldn’t put it past him to even lie under oath, so I’m not sure what the value is there,” he said.
The select committee is set to conclude the series of hearings it has been using to present its preliminary findings on Thursday with a prime-time session led by Mr Kinzinger and Representative Elaine Luria of Virginia, at which the panel will deliver a minute-by-minute account of what Mr Trump did and did not do in the 187 minutes between the moment a riotous mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol in hopes of preventing certification of his loss to Joe Biden and when law enforcement and national guard soldiers from Maryland and Virginia arrived to help clear the mob from the building.
While Mr Kinzinger expressed little interest in hearing from Mr Trump, he said former vice-president Mike Pence’s testimony could have some value.
“I think it would be important to hear everything he has to say,” said Mr Kinzinger, who added the caveat that he wasn’t sure if Mr Pence would himself be able to provide “a ton more” than what members of his staff have already told the select committee.
The Illinois congressman said the panel’s investigation is not winding down even if the current series of hearings is coming to an end.
“We may be towards the end of this tranche of hearings. We may have more hearings in the future. And the investigation is still ongoing. So we’re getting to the bottom of what we need to know,” he said. “As you saw with Cassidy Hutchinson, if we get information that the American people need to know, we may end up bringing up more hearings at that time to”.
