Kinzinger says Trump's troop withdrawal order is 'key evidence' he knew he lost election

[Rhiannon12866]

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., spoke on Oct. 13 as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack presented its findings to the public.

Kinzinger, one of two Republican members on the Jan. 6 panel, said that interviews with former Trump administration officials showed that Trump admitted privately that he knew he had lost. Kinzinger said that “key evidence” of this was Trump’s directive to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Somalia before he left office in November.

“[Trump] disregarded concerns about the consequences for fragile governments on the front lines of the fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda terrorists,” Kinzinger said. “Knowing he was leaving office, he acted immediately and signed this order on Nov. 11, which would have required the immediate withdrawal of troops from Somalia and Afghanistan, all to be completed before the Biden inauguration on Jan. 20.”

Kinzinger said Trump was acknowledging privately that he had lost the election, while he heard from close advisers that there was no evidence of fraud to change the election’s outcome.

Kinzinger added Trump “made the deliberate choice” to ignore an array of people and institutions from the courts, and the Department of Justice to campaign leaders and senior advisers to overturn the election.

“His intent was plain: Ignore the rule of law and stay in power,” he added.

The committee returned to its public-facing work after nearly three months, having
rescheduled the current hearing two weeks ago in light of Hurricane Ian. - January 6th Committee Hearing - PBS NewsHour - 10/13/2022.

[Rebl2]

1. I thought

Trump made an agreement with Afghanistan to withdraw troops in 2021. That is why President Biden withdrew troops last year and he couldn’t go against that withdrawal agreement. I likely have it all wrong.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. You're right. That's what Jen Psaki just said, TFG made the agreement to withdraw in February of 2020

In February 2020, Trump Administration officials signed an agreement with the Taliban in which the United States committed to the withdrawal of all international military forces by May 2021, in return for which the Taliban committed to prevent other groups (including Al Qaeda) from using Afghan soil to threaten the United States. Amid increased violence between the Taliban and Afghan government and continuing Taliban links with Al Qaeda, the Trump Administration drew down U.S. forces to a low of 2,500 in January 2021. Several months later, President Joseph Biden announced that the United States would complete the troop withdrawal by September 2021. On August 15, 2021, two weeks before that withdrawal was to conclude, the Taliban entered Kabul, the culmination of a rapid nationwide military advance that shocked many in the United States and Afghanistan. In the last two weeks of August, U.S. military forces oversaw the evacuation of over 120,000 individuals, including U.S. and international diplomatic personnel and Afghan partners, from Kabul’s international airport, before departing on August 30, 2021. No U.S. military or diplomatic personnel are in Afghanistan as of August 2022.

Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy: In Brief
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R45122.pdf