Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Thursday's prime-time broadcast of the House select Jan. 6 committee hearings will be a highly partisan event full of needless theater.
The hearings have nothing to do with "security at the Capitol. ... It's all about politics," Banks told Newsmax host Eric Bolling on Thursday.
"Here's what you won't hear tonight. You won't hear about my constituents (in Indiana) paying $5.25 per gallon of gas. ... And you won't hear about record-high inflation making it harder to make ends meet."
There won't be a "partisan" or even good-faith-balanced effort for Thursday's proceedings, he added.
Banks, who originally was earmarked as the Republican watchdog for the Jan. 6 hearings, also slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats for booting his assignment.
"This is the first time in the 232-year history of the United States ... that the appointments of a Minority Leader" had been denied.
"It's never happened before."
"(Speaker Pelosi) knows that (Rep.) Jim Jordan and I would have asked the tough questions that would change the narrative away from what Pelosi wants this committee to be all about it — which is the witch hunt to go after Donald Trump and to deny his name from ever appearing on (a presidential) ballot, to go after Trump's staff, Trump supporters, Trump voters. That's what this is all about."
The Jan. 6 panel, which has no formal judicial power, comprises of seven Democrats and two Republicans: Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
Kinzinger and Cheney have been outspoken critics of former President Trump for some time.
Banks told Newsmax had he been the Republican point man on the Jan. 6 committee, he would have had three Pelosi-related questions queued up:
- Was Pelosi in the room when officials called off the National Guard on Jan. 6, 2021?
- Was Pelosi part of that decision to remove the National Guard, prior to the unrest?
- Why were the police departments in charge of overseeing the Capitol area only half-staffed that day?
"These are the questions that you will not hear on live TV, primetime TV tonight ... because those questions would quickly change the narrative that Democrats don't want to hear," said Banks, while adding the hearings have nothing to do with "security at the Capitol. ... It's all about politics."
The Jan. 6 committee has reportedly conducted hundreds of interviews with witnesses, including former "high-level Trump White House officials," such as the former president's eldest children, and surveyed official documents provided by the National Archives.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.