During a Wednesday hearing of the House Judiciary Committee that provided a venue for airing Republican conspiracy theories about ostensible corruption at the FBI, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) — the panel’s top Democrat — went after the credibility of individuals who have previously been presented by Republicans as claimed whistleblowers.
Some of Republicans’ outrage about the FBI has centered on the supposedly over-the-top approach taken by the agency to cases of individuals accused of involvement in January 6. One of the witnesses presenting an account of supposed mishandling glossed over the prior documentation showing a particular defendant with a high-powered firearm, which could have facilitated a serious confrontation during any arrest and arguably made intense measures perfectly comprehensible. And evident issues with supposed “whistleblowers” extend from there.
“In fact, evidence shows that these individuals were suspended for violating serious FBI policies,” Nadler argued Wednesday. “One provided an unauthorized interview to Russian state-owned media. Another leaked information about an ongoing investigation, placing FBI agents and witnesses at risk. And another said that he wanted to use a senior FBI official as ‘target practice.’ Chairman Jordan invited some of these so-called whistleblowers to testify before the weaponization subcommittee in May. As it turns out, two of the witnesses were ultimately paid $250,000 each for their testimony.”
When Nadler finished his remarks, Jordan’s only immediate point of contention was with the New Yorker’s pronunciation of the last name of a past witness to committee members who had discussed the handling of the FBI’s investigation into the classified documents allegedly retained willfully by Donald Trump, in violation of federal laws. Nadler alleged that Republicans significantly misrepresented the substance of that past witness’s remarks, cutting it off in the portion they spotlighted before he explained the venue for running the investigation made procedural sense. Inquiries and more decisive actions, like charges, around Trump have predictably been another key driver of Republicans’ outrage, though they’ve yet to actually derail anything.
Trump remains expected to potentially face more charges in at least two investigations, including the other federal probe, which deals with his targeting of the 2020 election results. Watch things below:
