Gingrich says Jan. 6 commission members could face jail time if GOP retakes House

The former House Speaker says House Democrats have broken enough laws to warrant jail time
Newt Gingrich

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich is warning of possible jail time for Jan. 6 committee members should Republicans reclaim the House majority during the upcoming midterm election. 

"You’re gonna have a Republican majority in the House, a Republican majority in the Senate. And all these people who’ve been so tough and so mean and so nasty are going to be delivered subpoenas for every document, every conversation, every tweet, every email," Gingrich told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. 

"I think when you have a Republican Congress, this is all going to come crashing down. The wolves are gonna find out they’re now sheep, and they’re the ones who are, in fact, I think, going to face a real risk of going to jail for the kind of laws that they’re breaking," said Gingrich, though he did not specify which laws he believes have been broken. 

Gingrich, widely considered a GOP party elder, has reportedly been advising Republican leadership as the midterm approaches.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the committee and an outspoken critic of former President Trump, criticized Gingrich's assessment.

"A former speaker of the House is threatening jail time for members of Congress who are investigating the violent January 6 attack on our Capitol and our Constitution," she said. "This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels." 

Cheney is one of two Republicans who sit on the investigatory panel.