SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Congressman John Katko says it’s a “questionable call” whether the January 6th Investigation should result in criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.
When asked, Katko discussed the challenges: “He’s the President of the United States and we’ve never charged a President of the United States with a crime, including Nixon. That’s a pretty serious hurdle.”
Katko, a former federal prosecutor, warned the Justice Department to “dot their i’s and cross their t’s” if considering such a high-profile case.
“I’ll let the people judge the facts based on what’s presented to them and well go from there,” said Katko.
The four-term Republican is this week’s guest on Newsmakers.
Katko said he doesn’t regret being only one of the ten Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump for the January 6th attack on the United State Capitol.
Eight of those ten won’t return to Congress next year, either through retirement like Katko, or by losing primaries like Katko’s friend Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Of the congressional investigation, Katko said: “The vast majority of what the committee came up with I already knew, either first-hand or second-hand, at the time I cast my vote. There’s not a lot of earth-shattering things in my mind that I learned.”
Katko preferred the investigative format that passed the House but did not pass the Senate, a non-partisan committee similar to the group that investigated the 9/11 attacks.
Katko said: “I would have hoped making the Capitol safe and making Capitol Police better would have been the focus and it’s not and that’s a real shame.”
On Newsmakers, Katko also answered questions about inflation, the CHIPS bill’s impact on Central New York, his fight for Fort Ontario and what he’ll miss about being a federal representative.
