“Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God!” according to a copy of the letter he received in the newspaper, they wrote to the Republican of Illinois, reprimanding him for his “horrible, rude accusations of President Trump.”
“I did it well knowing it could be very good for my career,” Kinzinger said at the time. ‘But I also knew I could not live with myself, but you tried to just protect it and felt that the time I was called to do a very difficult task, I did not do it. ‘
CNN did not verify the authenticity of the letter, and contacted Kinzinger’s office for comment.
Kiniznger told the Times that the family members who signed the letter were experiencing ‘brainwashing’ from conservative churches that had misled them.
“I have nothing against them,” he told the newspaper, “but I have no desire or feeling that I should succeed. It’s 100% of them to reach out and recover, and honestly, I do not care if they do. ‘
Karen Times, Kinzinger’s cousin, wrote the letter and sent it to Kinzinger’s father – to make sure the congressman would see it – and to other Republicans across the state, the Times reported.
“I wanted Adam to be avoided,” she told the Times.
According to the newspaper, Kinzinger is from a large family in Illinois, and his father has 32 cousins. The congressman had previously referred to such a familial setback over his vote.
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.