Republicans' 'weaponization' committee is a "Fox News reboot of McCarthyism," White House says ahead of first hearing

Nicole Gaudiano
Updated ·2 min read
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Jim Jordan
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) at a hearing on Capitol Hill November 19, 2019 in Washington, DC.Jacquelyn Martin - Pool/Getty Images

  • The House "Weaponization of the Federal Government" subcommittee is holding its first hearing.

  • The White House likened it to a "reboot of McCarthyism" designed to help Republicans get on Fox News.

  • The hearing will cover "the politicization of the FBI and DOJ and attacks on American civil liberties."

House Republicans are launching a "reboot of McCarthyism" designed to help them get booked on Fox News, the White House said ahead of the "Weaponization of the Federal Government" subcommittee's first hearing.

A memo released Thursday compared the committee to the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee, established in 1938 to investigate disloyalty and subversive activities, as it meets for a hearing on "the politicization of the FBI and DOJ and attacks on American civil liberties."

The hearing led by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan will include witness testimony from Fox News commentators, the White House notes. Nicole Parker, a former FBI agent, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who recently left the Democratic Party, are scheduled to testify.

"This committee plans to weaponize the MAGA agenda against their perceived political enemies, going after civil servants, private citizens, and the rule of law—all in service of getting booked on Fox News," writes White House spokesman Ian Sams. "It appears the committee plans to target "ongoing criminal investigations," protect insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol, and continue the never-ending quest to deny and relitigate the outcome of the 2020 election."

Jordan, in a House floor speech last month, rejected the notion that the committee is a "ploy" and said whistleblowers have talked to Republicans about alleged government intrusions.

Sams wrote that Republicans are going down "the rabbit hole of debunked conspiracy theories about a 'deep state' instead of taking a deep breath" and working with Democrats.

He noted that Jordan in August said during the Conservative Political Action Conference that his investigations "will help frame up the 2024 race, when I hope and I think President Trump is going to run again. And we need to make sure that he wins."

 

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