Adam Kinzinger says he supports Capitol riot committee subpoena for Kevin McCarthy but casts doubt on calling Trump to testify because 'there's a lot of people around him that knew some things'

Adam Kinzinger said Sunday he would be open to calling House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy to testify in front of the Capitol riot committee but suggested it wouldn't be necessary to subpoena Donald Trump.

'I don't know,' Kinzinger said when ABC This Week host Jonathan Karl asked if the panel will want to compel the former president to speak before the committee.

'Again, it's going to depend on where the facts lead,' the Illinois Republican congressman said. 'We may not even have to talk to Donald Trump to get the information. There were tons of people around him. There were tons of people involved in the things that led up to January 6.'

Kinzinger, who was the last member brought onto the panel by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month, said I know that we're going to get to the information' without speaking to Trump.

'I think there's a lot of people around him that knew some things,' he said.

There are only two Republicans on the nine-member panel, Kinzinger and Liz Cheney. Both are Trump critics and voted for his second impeachment, where the former president stood accused of incitement of insurrection for the January 6 Capitol riot.

Representative Adam Kinzinger said Sunday that he would be opening to issuing a subpoena for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to testify before the Capitol riot committee

The Trump critic Republican, however, said he doesn't feel it will be necessary to compl the former president to testify because 'there were tons of people around him' that have the relevant information of that day. Here Trump speaks to his crowd of supporters in front of the White House on January 6 

Cheney lost her House leadership seat as Republican Conference chair earlier this summer for repeatedly breaking with Trump.

The at-large Wyoming representative was part of the original group of eight lawmakers Pelopsi appointed to the select committee last month. Kinzinger was brought on later when McCarthy pulled all five of his picks for the panel.

McCarthy only did so after Pelosi vetoed two of the five lawmakers – Representatives Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, who are Trump allies and voted against Congress certifying the election for Joe Biden on January 6.

Kizninger said that he would back subpoenas for McCarthy and Jordan to testify.

'I would support subpoenas to anybody that can shed light on that ,' Kinzinger told ABC News.

'If that's the leader, that's the leader,' he assured. 'If it's anybody that talked to the president that can provide us that information, I want to know what the president was doing every moment of that day, after he said, 'I'm going to walk with you to the Capitol,' after Mo Brooks stood up and said, 'We're going to kick backside and take names. Today's the day that, you know, patriots take their country back from other people.'

'I want to know what they were doing, because that's going to be important. I want to know -- you know, if the National Guard took five or six hours to get to Capitol Hill, did the president make any calls?' Kizinger continued.

'If anybody is scared of this investigation, I ask you one question – What are you afraid of?' Kinzinger said. 'I mean, either you're afraid of being discovered of having some culpability in it or, you know, what? If you think it wasn't a big deal, then you should allow this to go forward.'

He said that the investigation is 'essential for history' so American people know the truth of what happened on January 6.

Liz Cheney and Kinzinger attend on July 27, 2021 the first hearing for the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol

Karl asked how the panel would enforce subpoenas on fellow members of Congress if the likes of Jordan and McCarthy refused to comply.

Kinzinger said there are likely legal and constitutional mechanisms that they could use for enforcement.

'I intend, at least, on the committee, to get to a full accounting of the truth,' he said. 'And if somebody thinks that they can stand up and use, you know, maneuvers to try to string this investigation out and hope that people lose interest and hope that they can resist, at least me, and I know the other members of the committee, are determined that we are going to get to that answer.'

'So it may cost you a lot in legal fees to try to resist, but we're going to get to that answer,' he said, adding, 'I don't know what, you know, specific things we can do to compel.'

The committee held its first hearing last week, where Kinzinger ended up getting choked up when listening to testimony from U.S. Capitol Police officers.