Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol had been approached by new witnesses “every day” since Cassidy Hutchinson’s bombshell testimony last week.
At the beginning of the segment, Bash asked Kinzinger about comments made by her previous guest, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), attempting to attack Hutchinson’s credibility and refusing to blame former President Donald Trump for the events of Jan. 6.
Kinzinger replied he was “blown away” by Noem’s remarks, noting that he had served with her in the House.
“It’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” he said. “This is not the Kristi Noem I served with. Kristi Noem I served with, you know, was conservative, dedicated to truth,” and would have “put her country above her political career at any moment.”
It was “clear,” he continued, that Noem was “running for president or vice president” and was “scared to death of the base.”
“For her to call into question,” said Kinzinger, “a 26-year-old patriot who stood in front of the committee alone and told the truth, and then to avoid saying that Donald Trump bore even an ounce of responsibility for January 6th, I — I get amazed still every day by what some of my
Later in the interview Bash delved deeper into Hutchinson’s “explosive” testimony, specifically about Trump demanding to be taken to the Capitol on Jan. 6, reportedly lunging at the steering wheel and his Secret Service agent, Bobby Engel. After Hutchinson’s sworn testimony last Tuesday, anonymously sourced reports claimed agents were prepared to refute her claims — but then CNN reported two other sources within the Secret Service were prepared to corroborate what Hutchinson had said.
Kinzinger adamantly defended Hutchinson, noting that she was careful to be clear about what she directly witnessed and “what she heard,” and pointing out the narrow focus of Trump allies’ attempts to discredit her.
“At no point did she say she was in the Beast with the president and saw this happen,” he said, calling the attacks on Hutchinson “typical for Trump World.”
“Nobody has argued that the president didn’t want to go to the Capitol,” and “nobody has argued he didn’t know there were guns.” Instead, Kinzinger pointed out, they were trying to argue that he didn’t really grab for the steering wheel in the Beast (the nickname for the official presidential vehicle).
“Cassidy Hutchinson has testified under oath,” he stated. “We find her credible. Anybody that wants to cast disparagements, that
“Congressman, since Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony, have new witnesses come forward to want to speak up?” asked Bash.
“Yes,” Kinzinger affirmed. He declined to provide details about who those witnesses might be or about what topics they might testify, but said that Hutchinson had “been inspiring for a lot of people,” and it was leading people to approach the committee.
“Every day we get new people that come forward,” he said, who would say recent testimony during the hearings made them view knowledge they had in a new light.
Hutchinson would “go down in history,” he added. “She doesn’t want to be out in the public spotlight but she has a commitment to truth that someone like Kristi Noem and most people in our party would benefit to take an ounce of.”
“There will be way more information,” coming out in upcoming hearings, Kinzinger concluded, urging Americans to “stay tuned.”
Watch the video above, via CNN.