President-elect Donald Trump issued a warning on Sunday to Congress members who served on the House select committee who investigated the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, saying they "should go to jail."

In his interview with NBC News' Meet the Press, the president-elect told host Kristen Welker that "[Representative Liz] Cheney...[Representative] Bennie Thompson, and everybody on that committee...should go to jail."

Welker then asked, "So you think Liz Cheney should go to jail? Everyone on the committee you think should be in jail?"

The president-elect responded, "I think everybody...Anybody who voted in favor."

Welker then asked him if he was "going to direct your FBI director [Kash Patel]—and your attorney general [Pam Bondi] to send them to jail?"

Trump responded: "No, not at all. I think that they'll have to look at that, but I'm not going to. I'm going to focus on drill, baby, drill," a reference to his vow to expand the nation's oil drilling.

The bipartisan investigative committee was chaired by Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat. Then-Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, along with then-Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, both staunch critics of Trump's, were the lone Republicans to serve on the committee.

Meanwhile, Trump's latest remarks were met with immediate ire on social media and on television from some of his critics.

"Obviously people like Cheney, Kinzinger, Thompson, etc, committed no crimes and should be offered safe harbor by preemptive pardons that President Biden has full power to give and that they may accept without admitting they committed any offense when they in fact committed none," Harvard professor and lawyer Laurence Tribe wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Former Republican Representative Joe Walsh of Illinois posted on X: "He's a stupid, dangerous, un-American, vengeful man. But America knew all that and still elected him."

"This guy should be in prison. Instead, he's our President elect, and he'll put his critics in prison. Or they'll fall out windows. Good times, good times," the "Michigan GOP Watch" account posted on X.

In a panel discussion following Trump's interview on Meet the Press, Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump aide turned critic, said on CNN, "I tend to take Trump at his word, and this is something he ran on. But I do think, knowing him...we saw the events in Syria overnight. The world is on fire. He was elected to secure the border, deal with trade issues and to bring down the cost-of-living. My instinct is that Trump himself may not come for these people, but the things the Senate will have to grapple with are. Will his incoming attorney general or will his FBI director [go after Trump's political enemies]? That was a less clear answer from him."

She added: "If I were advising him, he should focus on the things that Trump does well... not going after people engaging in their congressional oversight roles."

Newsweek has emailed the Trump transition team on Sunday afternoon for comment. Newsweek also called Thompson's office and reached out to Cheney via the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia where she's a professor.

Trump's Sunday interview comes amid reports that President Joe Biden is said to be considering preemptive pardons for a number of officials and allies who could be targeted by Trump when he returns to office next month.

Historically, pardons are issued to those who have already been accused of specific crimes, such as in the case of Biden recently pardoning his son Hunter Biden. Preemptive pardons, though unusual, do have a historical precedent.

Pardons for crimes that people have not yet been accused of are currently being deliberated by White House lawyers and Biden has discussed the issue with senior aides, ABC News reported.

The president-elect has talked about "locking up" senior political figures such as Cheney, while Kash Patel, Trump's pick for director of FBI, also reportedly has a list of people he wants to "come after."

If preemptive pardons are issued, it's likely they will be given to a range of people. These may include Anthony Fauci, who led the COVID-19 response and is unpopular with conservatives; Cheney, who campaigned against Trump in this year's election with Vice President Kamala Harris; and California Democratic Senator-elect Adam Schiff, who led the first Trump impeachment trial. The consensus on such pardons among Democrats is divided.

The House Select Committee's Investigation Into the U.S. Capitol Riot

In December 2022, the select committee released its final January 6 Committee Report.

The 845-page report outlined the alleged efforts by then-former President Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election as well as analysis of what took place on January 6 when supporters of Trump's stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an effort to stop the certification of Joe Biden's win. Trump, without evidence, said the election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud.

In addition, the House committee made criminal referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and recommended that Trump face charges of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to make a false statement, and conspiracy to "incite," "assist," or "aid or comfort" an insurrection.

In August 2023, Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results that resulted in the riot.

Last month, following Trump's election win, DOJ special counsel Jack Smith filed motions to dismiss the case, as well as the federal classified documents case, against the president-elect.

Pardoning U.S. Capitol Rioters

In Sunday's interview, Trump also said pardoning rioters who partook in the insurrection will begin on his first day in office.

"I'm going to look at everything. We're going to look at individual cases," Trump said. "I'm going to be acting very quickly...I'm looking first day."

Trump, however, said there may be some exceptions to his pardons "if somebody was radical, crazy." He didn't rule out pardoning individuals who pleaded guilty.

When Welker asked him about rioters who admitted to assaulting police officers during the insurrection, Trump said, "Because they had no choice."

According to the DOJ, approximately 140 police officers were assaulted on January 6, including about 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.