Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Sunday said it is “insane” that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) considers herself a victim of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, adding that he would “love” to ask her questions about the riot.
Greene testified under oath earlier last month at a hearing to determine whether the first-term lawmaker can appear on the Georgia primary ballot for reelection. A group of her constituents is looking to have her barred from appearing on the ballot later this month because of her involvement in the Jan. 6 riot.
Greene’s lawyers filed a post-hearing brief on Friday arguing that the Georgia Republican was one of the victims of the attack.
“Instead of a perpetrator of the despicable attack, she was one of its victims,” the lawyers said of the congresswoman.
“She was sequestered for hours, she was scared and confused, and she and her family feared for her life. And rather that participating in the attack, she was trying to stop it,” they added, citing tweets in which she encouraged peaceful protests.
During a Sunday interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” moderator Margaret Brennan noted the post-hearing brief and also pointed to text messages obtained by CNN that show Greene discussing martial law with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Asked if he needs to ask the congresswoman questions about that day, Kinzinger said, “I’d love to ask her a few questions.”
He said it is “amazing” that Greene would call herself a victim.
“For Marjorie Taylor Greene … to say she’s a victim, it’s amazing how, you know, folks like her attack everybody for being a victim. I mean, she assaulted, I think, a survivor’s family from a school shooting at some point in D.C. She stood outside a congresswoman’s office and yelled at her through a mail slot and said she was too scared to come out and confront her,” Kinzinger said.
“And then when Marjorie Taylor Greene is confronted, she’s all of a sudden a victim and a poor, helpless congresswoman that’s just trying to do her job. It’s insane. We want the information. Look, history is not going to judge her or people like her that are buying the ‘big lie’ well. I firmly believe that,” he added.
The Jan. 6 panel has requested to speak with three lawmakers: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). None of them, however, have appeared before the committee.
During her hearing last month, Greene on a number of occasions said she could not recall details asked by lawyers. She also rejected any insinuations that she intended to encourage violence on Jan. 6.