WASHINGTON — Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the now-defunct House of Representatives committee, pushed back Tuesday against President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that the panel’s former members be jailed.
The suggestion is “absolutely wrong,” the Mississippi Democrat told reporters on Capitol Hill, saying the committee did nothing “that is against the law.”
“Just because you disagree with the work of the committee,” Thompson said, is not a reason “to threaten those members of the committee with jail time, so that’s clearly his opinion.”
“I’m comfortable with the fact that as members of Congress we did our job, and as long as we do our job, there are certain guarantees that we have, and I look forward to enforcing those guarantees,” he added. he added.
Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. of the House Democratic Caucus, who also served on the Jan Committee, said Tuesday that he and the other committee members were doing their jobs and “upholding the rule of law.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also called Trump’s comments “an outrageous suggestion.”
Democrats were responding to comments Trump made during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday.
“Cheney has done something that is inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people of the non-select committee of political criminals and, you know, creeps,” Trump told moderator Kristen Welker, claiming that they were using the testimonies they had without evidence collected “removed and destroyed”.
“Frankly, they should go to jail,” Trump said.
When asked if he would direct his attorney general or FBI director to do something like that, Trump said, “No, not at all. I think they should look at that, but I’m not going to – I’m not going to do that. I’m going to concentrate on drilling, baby, drilling.”
Cheney fired back in a lengthy statement on Sunday, saying Trump tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election and “mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and stopped the official count . electoral votes.”
“This was the worst violation of our Constitution by any president in the history of our country,” said Cheney, who campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election. “Donald Trump’s suggestion to imprison members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions is a continuation of his attack on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”
After the panel’s 18-month investigation, which included a series of 10 public hearings, the committee concluded that Trump was the “single man” responsible for the efforts to overturn the election that led to the attack on the Capitol led.
During the interview with “Meet the Press,” Trump also made clear that he plans to keep his promise to pardon his supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, many of whom have been convicted and whom the president-elect has described as “hostages.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
