WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that members of Congress investigating the treason at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 should be arrested.
“Frankly, they should go to jail,” Trump said of the elected officials leading the investigation, speaking in an interview with NBC's “Meet the Press.”
One of those investigators, former Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), is expected to be sworn in Monday as a member of the U.S. Senate Minority California. Schiff served on the January 6 committee and led the first impeachment inquiry against Trump.
Trump said Sunday he would not direct his administration to prosecute and would leave the decision to attorney general nominee Pam Bondi.
He also said that it is “possible” that he forgives his followers who were convicted in this riot.
President Biden is considering whether to issue a preliminary pardon to protect potential targets of retaliatory prosecution, including Schiff.
In a Sunday X column accompanying a clip of the interview, Schiff wrote: “Persecuting those who speak the truth. Pardoning perpetrators of political violence. That is not what democracy does. That's what dictators do.”
Schiff won the election to replace Sen. The outgoing Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to temporarily hold the seat of Sen. The late Dianne Feinstein after Feinstein's death in September 2023.
He gained national prominence during Trump's first term, leading numerous investigations into Trump and his allies.
In a letter he wrote to Newsom on Sunday announcing his formal resignation from the House, Schiff wrote that it has been his honor to represent the people of California's 30th Congressional District for the past 24 years.
“I look forward to representing all Californians, and doing everything in my power to ensure that our state continues to provide opportunity, creativity, innovation, and a good quality of life for generations to come,” he wrote.
Times staff writer Kevin Rector and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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