WASHINGTON _ U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Wednesday told CNN it was time to look at an independent commission or special prosecutor after reports that President Donald Trump asked former FBI chief James Comey to halt the bureau's probe of former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Kinzinger, 39, is a Republican in his fourth term representing Illinois' 16th Congressional District.
"It is time we look at the idea of an independent commission or special prosecutor," he told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on "New Day."
"I think it is time we do whatever is necessary that when this is over, we give the American people the confidence that justice, either way it goes, has been served," he added.
It's a change of heart for Kinzinger, who in mid-February said an independent commission to probe possible Trump campaign ties to Russia was "overkill." He said then the Senate Intelligence Committee should examine the matter.
Kinzinger is a pilot with the Air National Guard and a military hawk who has been critical of Trump's overtures to Russia, which the legislator regards as an adversary.
He has stated that he did not vote for Trump last November but never disclosed for whom he voted.
Kinzinger, did, however, align with Trump by voting for a GOP bill to overhaul Obamacare and was among lawmakers who met with the president at the White House before the passage of the bill.
Flynn briefly served the Trump White House before he was forced to resign after failing to disclose contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. before Trump took office.
Trump fired Comey last week.
