Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, responded to President-elect Donald Trump floating jail time for members of the previous congressional committee, underlining he’s “not afraid of [Trump’s] most up-to-date threats.”
“Donald Trump has shamefully undermined the rule of legislation, degraded our democracy, and eroded our Constitution for years, and his newest lies in regards to the work of the January sixth Select Committee are simply the most recent installment. But let me be clear: Those of us who investigated his central function within the January sixth revolt are merely not afraid of his most up-to-date threats,” Thompson mentioned in a press release to Fox News Digital on Monday.
“Donald Trump and his minions could make all of the assertions they need – but no election, no conspiracy idea, no pardon, and no risk of vengeful prosecution can rewrite historical past or wipe away his accountability for the lethal violence on that horrific day. We stood as much as him earlier than, and we are going to proceed to take action.”
Trump joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” for an interview that aired Sunday, when the president-elect railed that former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, Thompson and others on the J6 committee “deleted and destroyed” proof associated to the investigation and “ought to go to jail.”
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Rep. Bennie Thompson, left, and President-Elect Donald Trump. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images | Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)
“Cheney did one thing that’s inexcusable, together with Thompson and the individuals on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you realize, creeps,” he mentioned within the interview. “They deleted and destroyed all proof.”
“And Cheney was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everyone on that committee,” he continued. “For what they did, actually, they need to go to jail.”
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Liz Cheney attends “Liz Cheney in Conversation with David Rubenstein” at The 92nd Street Y, New York on June 26, 2023 in New York City. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
Trump’s feedback that aired Sunday come as President Biden reportedly mulls issuing blanket, “preemptive pardons” to these considered as Trump’s political foes, akin to Cheney, Thompson and California Sen.-elect Adam Schiff.
Thompson added in his assertion to Fox Digital that the committee diligently adopted House guidelines all through the investigation. “Our committee was totally approved by the House, all guidelines had been correctly adopted, and our work product stands by itself. In reality, within the two years since we now have accomplished our work, no court docket or authorized physique has refuted it.”
Cheney, a longtime outspoken critic of Trump’s, additionally responded to Trump’s remarks earlier this week, slamming the suggestion of jail time as “a continuation of his assault on the rule of legislation.”
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“Here is the reality: Donald Trump tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize energy,” Cheney mentioned in a response assertion to Trump, which was offered to Fox News Digital. “He mobilized an offended mob and despatched them to the United States Capitol, the place they attacked law enforcement officials, invaded the constructing and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on tv as law enforcement officials had been brutally overwhelmed and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to inform the mob to go away.”
The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to research the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that 12 months by supporters of Trump forward of President Biden formally taking workplace on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held management of the House.
President-elect Donald Trump sits down with Kristen Welker on Sunday for an interview on “Meet the Press.” (Screenshot/NBC)
The committee concluded its 18-month investigation final 12 months, when Republicans regained management of the House and despatched referrals to the Justice Department recommending Trump be criminally prosecuted for his involvement within the lead-up to supporters breaching the Capitol.
The committee was composed of seven Democrats and two Republican lawmakers, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, each of whom are not in workplace.
Trump has beforehand alleged that members of the committee “deleted” proof amid the investigation, which was supported by a report launched by House Republicans launched earlier this 12 months claiming the choose committee “deleted” data and employed “Hollywood producers” to advertise a political narrative whereas investigating Jan. 6.
Among its key findings, the report claimed that the choose committee was designed “to advertise a political narrative” and in addition asserted that it “deleted data and hid proof” forward of Republicans taking the House majority through the 2022 election cycle.
Vice President Kamala Harris attends a dialog moderated by Charlie Sykes with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Oct. 21, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
“THE SELECT COMMITTEE DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE – Reps. Thompson and Cheney failed to show over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions regardless of utilizing these recordings of their high-profile, primetime hearings. The Subcommittee recovered over 100 deleted or password-protected recordsdata, together with some recordsdata that had been deleted days earlier than Republicans took the bulk. They additionally hid a number of transcribed interviews of witnesses who had firsthand information of Trump‘s actions on January 6,” the report, which was spearheaded by Republican Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk, discovered.
Thompson denied the claims of deleting evidence in a July 2023 letter to Loudermilk, detailing that the committee had known as on the federal authorities concerning the “correct archiving of such delicate materials to guard witnesses’ security, nationwide safety, and to safeguard legislation enforcement operations.” Cheney has additionally publicly and repeatedly denied claims the committee mishandled proof.
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“Donald Trump is aware of his claims in regards to the choose committee are ridiculous and false, as has been detailed extensively, together with by Chairman Thompson,” Cheney continued in her response to Trump’s remarks over the weekend, referring to Thompson’s 2023 letter. “There is not any conceivably applicable factual or constitutional foundation for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who makes an attempt to pursue that course would shortly discover themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct.”
