House Democrats came out swinging against in the first hearing of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. This probe was a promise Republicans made ahead of the 2022 midterms, where the Department of Justice’s political biases oozing from the J. Edgar Hoover Building culminated in a federal ransacking of Mar-a-Lago over trumped-up charges of mishandling classified materials last August. The Trump raid might have been the death knell for the universal trust and credibility the institution has shared across the board. For half the country, this looked like a politically motivated Gestapo raid executed by the Left to warn the former president not to run again in 2024.
This investigation might have never come to pass; the GOP barely won the House in 2022 after a dismal midterm election cycle. Yet, even with the slimmest of majorities, these inquiries are about to begin, starting with subpoenas being issued for Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was also given a summons. The Democrats' first step was predictable: chip away at the body’s credibility. The second part is to portray the hearings as a massive microphone for the far right to disseminate conspiracy theories (via Fox News):
The top Democrat on the House Weaponization Subcommittee said there is a "difference" between "legitimate oversight and weaponization of Congress," slamming the GOP-created committee as one that will be used to "showcase conspiracy theories and advance an extreme agenda."
The subcommittee’s first hearing featured two panels of witnesses to present testimony and illustrate how the Department of Justice has allegedly compromised American civil liberties.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., opened the panel’s first hearing with a warning to Republicans on the committee.
"Nobody disputed the important role of congressional oversight. I know firsthand how important it is to ask questions and demand answers of the federal government," Plaskett said. "Congressional oversight can serve to protect the integrity of our Republic."
"But there is a difference, my colleagues, between legitimate oversight and weaponization of Congress and our processes, particularly our committee work, as a political tool," she said.
Plaskett, who served as an impeachment manager in the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, said she is "deeply concerned" that the Weaponization Subcommittee will be used "as a place to settle scores, showcase conspiracy theories and advance an extreme agenda that risk undermining Americans’ faith in our democracy."
Tulsi Gabbard calls out Mitt Romney for accusing her of treason. pic.twitter.com/IKHelwm0ki
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 9, 2023
The first panel included Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mr. Raskin, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). The second group consisted of a former FBI agent, Nicole Parker, who left when she felt her former employer was becoming too political, Elliot Williams of the Raben Group, Thomas Baker, another ex-FBI agent, and law professor Jonathan Turley.
It's beyond rich that the Trump impeachment manager is huffy about Congress investigating overreaches of power. She should be familiar with the concept since she was neck-deep in one a couple of years ago. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who testified in the first panel of the hearing, said this wasn’t about oversight but “scandal mongering and sticking it to the other guys."
Raskin: "Can you think of a more egregious example of weaponizing the DOJ for nakedly political purposes than imprisoning and putting in solitary confinement [political opponents]?" pic.twitter.com/PEn2Kkxsr1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 9, 2023
Rep. Colin Allred asks if J6 was an act of Domestic Terrorism
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) February 9, 2023
Fmr. FBI Agent Thomas Baker: “It was an act of lawlessness, there was a lot of property destroyed and there were crimes committed by trespassing, I don’t know if that rises to the level of terrorism.” pic.twitter.com/ASQ5APNbLw
Well, yes, this is politics, Jamie. It’s warfare by other means (via Roll Call):
Republicans defended their use of subpoenas Thursday in their first subcommittee hearing on the “weaponization” of the federal government, as Democrats accused them of trying to use that congressional tool to score political points.
Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, argued the panel’s first three subpoenas, issued Friday, came after months of stonewalling from the Biden administration over conservative concerns that the Justice Department targeted parents’ protests at school board meetings.
Congressional subpoenas for executive branch documents rarely fare well in the courts, but Jordan argued Thursday that “we tried in the last Congress.”
“We sent over 100 letters. We tried,” Jordan said.
The simple fact is this: no one cares. We don’t care what the Left thinks and vice versa. At its core, this is the political game, the accumulation of power to go after one’s enemies. The GOP remains painfully slow in realizing the true aims of the Democratic Party on this issue. They have increased their grip on institutions and cultural centers for this purpose. It’s only due to Trump that they’ve unleashed their Gestapo—the FBI—to target anyone who dares question their version of America, which is woke, broke, and devoid of opportunity because that’s what Marxism is one you peel back the layers of Trotskyite nonsense. Maybe they’re seeing that we’re learning that indictments aren’t the goal. No one thinks Wray or Garland will be charged or impeached. It’s about the probe and how it acts like a radioactive isotope against its target, the slow decay of one’s reputation. There’s no better way to kneecap an opponent than engulf them in a federal maze of investigation against a foe, the DOJ, which has unlimited legal resources to destroy lives. The GOP says they’re willing to go to war against that enemy from within. Do they have the chutzpah to follow through and finish what could be a very long, torturous conflict with the enforcement arm of the political class?
Based on the lengthy statement from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), at least she seems ready to do battle:
“The FBI’s partisan censorship violating First Amendment rights and civil liberties and full weaponization against the American people will be exposed as the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hits the ground running this week This first hearing will be critical to laying the groundwork to uproot the longstanding political weaponization against the American people entrenched in the federal government. Just as I laid out the facts during the sham impeachments against President Donald Trump, successfully defeated Democrats’ partisan process, and exposed the DOJ’s targeting of parents through my oversight questioning, I will lead the charge to root out corruption in our government agencies. Accountability is coming, and we will get to the bottom of this and deliver the truth and accountability on behalf of the American patriots who have been unfairly targeted by corrupt government agencies.”
For now, we can enjoy the irony from the Left regarding how they’re appalled that the GOP is supposedly weaponizing government to go after one’s enemies…just like they did.
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