Jonathan Turley, a legal analyst for Fox News, on Monday blasted President-elect Trump’s recent “rage rhetoric” comments referencing jailing members of the former House panel on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump’s first sit-down interview since his election win last month aired on Sunday. In the “Meet the Press” interview, he suggested to NBC News anchor Kirsten Welker that he would not specifically order appointees to top positions to target political enemies. However, the president-elect also alluded to putting those who served on the committee focused on the 2021 Capitol attack in jail.
“The fact, however, is that there is no viable criminal case to be made against the J6 Committee members for their investigation or report,” Turley, who has also written opinion pieces for The Hill, said in a post on his blog that was highlighted by Mediaite.
“We need to move beyond the rage rhetoric if this country is going to come together to face the tough challenges ahead,” he added.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) later responded to the president-elect’s comments about the Jan. 6 committee, which she was a part of, in a statement provided to The Hill.
“Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power,” Cheney said in the statement.
“He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave,” she said.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.
