(Headline USA) A group of Illinois Republicans asked the state party to censure Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., this week for his role on the Jan. 6 congressional committee, accusing him of betraying his colleagues with “baseless claims.”
Members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus said in a letter to the Illinois GOP that Kinzinger, who is not running for reelection, “has offered up little but incendiary language, wild exaggerations, and personal opinions as so-called evidence of his baseless claims” during the committee’s hearings, reported the Chicago Tribune.
“These hearings are a sham without any due process, and a ban on any witnesses for the accused,” Freedom Caucus member and state Rep. Adam Niemerg said in a statement. “We expect this from Democrats, but it is appalling to see Republicans like Adam Kinzinger to play such a prominent part in these proceedings. He should be censured by the Illinois Republican party for his actions.”
State Rep. Adam Niemerg said Kinzinger’s comments during last week’s prime-time hearing prompted the censure request. Kinzinger called Trump’s conduct during the Capitol protests “a supreme violation of his oath of office and a complete dereliction of his duty to our nation.”
However, the Illinois GOP and Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey have decided to ignore the conservatives’ request, according to Politico.
“The Illinois GOP is focused on uniting the party to defeat Gov. [JB] Pritzker in November and make Illinois a safe and affordable place for people to live. That’s what Republicans are rallying around. That is our priority,” Bailey and Illinois GOP President Don Tracey said in a joint statement.
But just last year, Bailey was urging Republicans to “condemn” Kinzinger’s “personal and political attack” on former President Donald Trump and his supporters.
I encourage the @ILGOP to call on Congressman Kinzinger to stand down, or outright condemn his latest personal and political attack on President Trump and the tens of millions of Americans who support the President.
— Darren Bailey for Governor (@DarrenBaileyIL) January 13, 2021
Kinzinger has already been censured by the LaSalle County Republican Central Committee, which passed a resolution last year condemning him after he voted to impeach Trump. The Republican National Committee also voted earlier this year to censure him and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who is also on the Jan. 6 committee, for “participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens.”
