The clown show, a.k.a. the Republican House Judiciary's "weaponization of government" subcommittee, takes dead aim at feet, pulls trigger:
Allies of Donald Trump and Rep.Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) have been struggling mightily to come up with whistleblowers who will tell all about the imagined "deep state" conspiracy in the federal government out to get the former president. Instead, the effort has turned into a "dumpster fire" blowing up in their faces, Rolling Stone reported Thursday.
Republicans hauled out FBI veteran George Hill in early February to spill about the "weaponized" deep state. But Hill, a former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst, reportedly admitted he had little or no firsthand knowledge of any alleged “deep state” scandals.
Instead, his own right-wing biases were revealed, most notably on social media. In one since-deleted tweet discovered by Rolling Stone, Hill wrote “Cancer! GO FASTER!” responding to a tweet from Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) baselessly claiming that President Joe Biden had been diagnosed with cancer.
Hill either could not or refused to answer many questions put to him, according to transcripts reviewed by Rolling Stone.
Not to fear: Jordan, the chair of the new House Judiciary’s “weaponization” subcommittee, opened his first hearing vowing that he had heard from “dozens and dozens” of whistleblowers about “the political nature at the Justice Department.” Trump and his backers, including lawmakers like "conspiracy curious" GOP Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley (as Rolling Stone describes him) have reportedly been beating the bushes for the groomed whistleblowers — and covering their expenses.
But so far, Republicans have brought only three of them to Capitol Hill for questioning, and no others have yet been scheduled, the Rolling Stone reported...
And what of those three "whistleblowers" (including Hill) "deep state" aficionado "Gym" Jordan has brought in for questioning?
A trio of witnesses being called as "whistleblowers" by the GOP committee investigating the "weaponization" of government were paid off by a Trump ally and spread conspiracy theories, reported The New York Times on Thursday.
"The first three witnesses to testify privately before the new Republican-led House committee investigating the 'weaponization' of the federal government have offered little firsthand knowledge of any wrongdoing or violation of the law, according to Democrats on the panel who have listened to their accounts," reported Luke Broadwater and Adam Goldman. "Instead, the trio appears to be a group of aggrieved former F.B.I. officials who have trafficked in right-wing conspiracy theories, including about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, and received financial support from a top ally of former President Donald J. Trump."
"The roster of witnesses, whose interviews and statements are detailed in a 316-page report compiled by Democrats that was obtained by The New York Times, suggests that Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the panel, has so far relied on people who do not meet the definition of a whistle-blower and who have engaged in partisan conduct that calls into question their credibility," said the report. "And it raises questions about whether Republicans, who have said that investigating the Biden administration is a top goal, will be able to deliver on their ambitious plans to uncover misdeeds at the highest levels."
The three witnesses in question, per the report, are "George Hill, a retired F.B.I. supervisory intelligence analyst from the bureau’s Boston field office; Stephen Friend, a former special agent who worked in the Daytona Beach office; and Garret O’Boyle, a special agent from the field office in Wichita, Kan., who has been suspended."
They have promoted conspiracy theories; Hill wrote on Twitter that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was a "set up." Meanwhile, O'Boyle and Friend have admitted to receiving financial aid from Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Trump associate who has testified in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case...
One positive note, beyond the entertainment value, is that more and more crackpot Trumpist FBI agents are being exposed/ retired/ suspended, though an undetermined number are still in place ready to hamper the Justice Department in its pursuit of the Malignant Loser. It goes without saying that coup- friendly conspiracy theorists have no place in government, particularly in DOJ.
Bigger picture: as far as who's leading this clown show "deep state investigation," could you imagine anyone more risibly inappropriate that "Gym" Jordan, who ignored on-going sexual abuse while serving as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University from 1987-1995? His use of a "deep state" conspiracy model was even trotted out by "Gym" to explain that scandal:
... Is it true that Jordan blamed the "deep state" for this scandal?
Yes. Jordan suggested that the allegations of abuse, and his role in hiding them, are meant to thwart his race for Speaker of the House after Paul Ryan steps down this coming January, and to retaliate for Jordan grilling Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at a recent House hearing. It is difficult to believe, however that Rod Rosenstein went back in time four decades to create thousands of victims of abuse in order to harm Jordan's race for the speakership forty years later...
What a clown. What a show.
BONUS: It seems one of the agents was a "Friend" of Russia --
New Dem report says one of Jim Jordan's alleged whistleblowers granted interviews with both Sputnik News and Russia Today *while still employed by FBI.*
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) March 3, 2023
He acknowledged they were "propaganda" outlets. pic.twitter.com/lSMn2koR1c
(Image: "Gym," ready for his takedown)
