WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal that the former members of the House Jan. 6 committee be put in jail was resisted Tuesday by Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chair of the now-defunct committee.
The Mississippi Democrat told reporters on Capitol Hill that the proposal is “absolutely wrong” and that the committee accomplished nothing “that violates the law.”
“Just because you disagree with the work of the committee,” Thompson stated, there’s no justification “to threaten those members of the committee with jail, so obviously that s his opinion.”
I’m at ease with the idea that, as members of Congress, we were carrying out our duties. As long as we carry out our duties, we have certain assurances, and I’m eager to enforce them,” he continued.
Representative Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., a member of the Jan. committee and a member of the House Democratic Caucus, said Tuesday that he and the other members of the committee “upheld the rule of law.”
When Trump appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, the two Democrats were reacting to remarks he made.
Trump told interviewer Kristen Welker, “Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” asserting that they “deleted and destroyed” the testimony they gathered in the absence of proof.
When Trump remarked, “Honestly, they should go to jail,”
Trump responded, “No, not at all,” when asked if he would order his attorney general or FBI director to take such action. They’ll probably have to take a look at that, but I’m not going to; instead, I’m going to concentrate on drill, baby, drill.”
In a lengthy statement released on Sunday, Cheney retaliated, claiming that Trump “mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building, and halted the official counting of electoral votes” in an attempt to rig the 2020 presidential election.
Cheney, who ran for vice president Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election, stated, “This was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history.” “Donald Trump s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”
Following an 18-month investigation that included ten public hearings, the committee came to the conclusion that Trump was the “one man” behind the attempts to rig the election that resulted in the Capitol attack.
In the interview with “Meet the Press,” Trump also stated that he intends to fulfill his pledge to pardon his supporters who invaded the Capitol on January 6, many of whom were found guilty and whom the president-elect has referred to as “hostages.”
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