Kinzinger says its ‘possible’ some Republican members of Congress directly responsible for Capitol riot

One of two Republicans serving on the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol had a dire warning for his GOP colleagues in the House on Sunday: More damaging revelations from Mark Meadows’ text messages are on the way.

Speaking with ABC’s Jonathan Karl on This Week, the retiring Illinois congressman confirmed that more of the former White House chief of staff’s texts with members of Congress as the riot consumed the Capitol complex will be released in the weeks ahead, and confirmed that it was “possible” that some sitting members of Congress bore responsibility for the attack.

Mr Kinzinger was asked by Mr Karl about the release of further text messages in an interview on Sunday.

“There are also text messages, and I assume you have more, but the text messages that have been released from your colleagues, from your Republican colleagues, on January 6, and as you said, before January 6, that look pretty damning,” said Mr Karl.

“Do you think that some of your Republican colleagues bear direct responsibility for that riot?” asked the ABC News correspondent.

“It’s possible,” said Mr Kinzinger, who added that he was “not ready to kind of go to that point yet”.

“I want to let the facts dictate it, but yes there are more texts out there,” said the congressman.

The ominous warning could mean more bruising headlines for individual members of Congress regarding their efforts to aid former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election; in the past few days, it was revealed that Republicans on Capitol Hill were privately urging Mr Meadows to prod the president to call off his supporters and acknowledging the severity of the attack. The revelations follow months of efforts by GOP members of the House to publicly downplay the danger posed by the rioters on that day.

“Fix this now,” one GOP lawmaker texted Mr Meadows on January 6, according to the texts released thus far. A second added: “It’s really bad up here on the hill.”

Other lawmakers were revealed to have been passing around arguments in favour of Vice President Mike Pence interfering in the election certification process just hours before rioters inspired by that idea would go on to battle law enforcement while hunting for Speaker Nancy Pelosi through the Capitol and shouting chants of “hang Mike Pence”.

Mr Kinzinger’s remarks also seem to verify GOP lawmakers’ worst fears about the January 6 commission: That it will expose the conduct of its members as the party seeks to capitalize on a favourable political landscape heading in to the 2022 midterm campaign season.

The House voted earlier this month to hold Mr Meadows in contempt after he ceased cooperation with the January 6 committee, citing executive privilege. More revelations about the actions of Republicans on Capitol Hill ahead of and during January 6 are likely to come out in the weeks ahead as more witnesses comply with the panel’s demands for information.