Stefanik slams NBC as biased, calls Jan. 6 prisoners ‘hostages’

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R.N.Y.) on Sunday echoed former President Trump's comments about the storming of the Capitol, condemning the “biased media” and expressing concern about the “treatment of hostages on January 6th.” He said there was.

During an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker shared a video of Stefanik saying “violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable” on the night of Jan. 6, 2021. It flowed. “He is an American, and he must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Welker also noted that President Trump has called January 6 a “great day” in the past.

In response, Stefanik, a key Trump ally, said only one excerpt of his speech was played, which he said was “typical of NBC and the biased media.”

“First of all, Kristen, typical of NBC and the biased media, you played excerpts of my speech,” she said. “I stand by what I said in the House. I advocated for election integrity and challenged and opposed Pennsylvania's certification on grounds of unconstitutional overreach.”

She also reiterated President Trump's comments over the weekend during a campaign event in Iowa on Saturday in which he referred to those jailed for participating in the riot as “hostages.”

“I have concerns about the treatment of the hostages on January 6th,” Stefanik told NBC when asked if those who stormed the Capitol should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. “We have rules in Congress to oversee the treatment of prisoners of war. And I believe we're going to see a weaponization of the federal government, not just against President Trump, but against conservatives as well.”

“If you could go back and play the full speech I gave in the full House of Commons, I would condemn the violence just as I condemned the violence. [Black Lives Matter] It’s a riot,” she later added.

This is not the first time President Trump has referred to those imprisoned in the Capitol attack as “hostages,” including at a rally in Texas in November.