Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said on Monday that he does not want a pardon from President Joe Biden despite concerns about President-elect Donald Trump investigating him and other members of the House Jan. 6 committee.
CNN host Anderson Cooper asked Kinzinger whether he would want to be pardoned ahead of a Trump presidency.
“Should President Biden issue pardons for Jan. 6 committee members, including yourself?” Anderson asked.
Cooper: Should President Biden issue pardons for the January 6 committee members including yourself?
Kinzinger: No. I don’t want it.. the second you take a pardon it looks like you are guilty of something and I am guilty of nothing except bringing the truth pic.twitter.com/1JCEV1Ryyh
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 6, 2025
“No, I don’t want it,” Kinzinger responded. “Because Donald Trump has clearly said he’s gonna go after everybody. And it’s not gonna be for the Jan. 6 investigation. What they’ll do is weaponize other investigations. They’ll look into everything and start an investigation that’ll end up coming to naught.”
“But the second you take a pardon, it looks like you’re guilty of something,” he added. “I’m guilty of nothing besides bringing the truth to the American people.”
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The former Illinois congressman, who left the House in 2023, has been a vocal Trump critic over the years and delivered a prime-time speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in support of Trump’s rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“So, no, I don’t want it. And, you know, the bottom line is, I mean, if he wants to bring up Jan. 6 again — we’ve had all this talk about how we’re moving on from Jan. 6, and, trust me, Anderson, I would love to. My life has been defined by this for four years — but if he wants to bring it back, I will happily talk about everything the committee did and learned and reembarrass him,” Kinzinger said.
