Hunter Biden investigation: Ex-CIA chief says Blinken ‘triggered’ letter to discredit laptop

Jerry Dunleavy

April 20, 09:13 PM April 20, 09:13 PM

A former top CIA official who helped write and sign the infamous October 2020 Hunter Biden laptop letter baselessly claiming Russian involvement has testified a phone call with now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken “triggered” its creation.

Mike Morell, a former acting CIA director under President Barack Obama, said in a recent transcribed interview with congressional investigators that, prior to his Oct. 17 phone call with Blinken, he had no intention to write the Oct. 19 Hunter Biden laptop letter. He testified “yes” and “absolutely” when asked if the call with Blinken, who was then a top adviser for Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, was what “triggered that intent in you.”

Morell also testified that one of the two reasons he helped put the letter together was to help Biden defeat former President Donald Trump.

These revelations came in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner that was sent to Blinken on Thursday by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

The news comes one day after an IRS agent alleged that the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden has been infected by “politics” and “preferential treatment.”

The October 2020 laptop letter contributed to the baseless narrative that the Hunter Biden laptop stories were nothing but a product of Russian disinformation. This line was happily seized upon by Biden’s 2020 campaign and spread by some of the laptop letter signers. Hunter Biden himself later tried to falsely claim the intelligence community concluded his laptop was some sort of Kremlin smear campaign.

Jordan and Turner told Blinken that Morell revealed the secretary of state had “played a role in the inception of this statement while serving as a Biden campaign advisor” and that “according to Morell, although your outreach was couched as simply gathering Morell’s reaction to the New York Post story, it set in motion the events that led to the issuance of the public statement.”

The congressmen wrote that, the same day of the Blinken-Morell call, Blinken “also emailed Morell an article” published in USA Today the same day which alleged that the FBI was examining whether the Hunter Biden laptop was part of a “disinformation campaign.” Jordan and Turner told Blinken that “the very bottom of the email you sent to Morell included the signature block of Andrew Bates, then-director of rapid response for the Biden campaign.” Bates is now a deputy press secretary in the Biden White House.

Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign quickly dismissed the laptop story as a Russian disinformation operation. After the New York Post published emails belonging to his son, Joe Biden called the story “garbage” and part of a “Russian plan” during an October 2020 debate with Trump.

Former senior CIA operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos said in 2020 that he and Morell helped put the letter together.

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION INFECTED BY "POLITICS": IRS WHISTLEBLOWER

The congressional letter said Morell received a call from then-Biden campaign chairman Steve Ricchetti after the Oct. 22 presidential debate to thank him for writing the statement. Richetti is now a counselor to President Biden. Morell said that “Steve thanked me for putting the statement out.”

The phone call to Morell had come from Jeremy Bash, another Hunter Biden laptop letter signer, who then got Richetti on the line. Bash, a former chief of staff at the CIA and Pentagon, was picked by Biden to be part of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board last year. Bash himself had suggested on TV in October 2020 that the laptop story was “Russian disinformation.”

Biden said during the October 2020 debate with Trump: “There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan. They have said this is, has all the — four, five former heads of the CIA. Both parties say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage.”

He was referring to a Politico report about the letter in an article titled “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say.” The title was a bit misleading because the letter never directly called the story Russian “disinformation.”

Although the October 2020 letter hedged a bit at various times, it did repeatedly contend there was Russian involvement with the laptop stories, arguing that “if we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election” and expressing “our view that the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue.” The letter claimed the laptop saga “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation” and that “our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.”

Another key letter signatory was Nick Shapiro, a former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to Obama CIA Director John Brennan, who also signed the letter. Politico has said Shapiro provided them with the letter, and Shapiro said at the time: “The real power here ... is the number of former, working-level IC officers who want the American people to know that once again the Russians are interfering.”

Jordan and Turner said that “Morell also explained that the Biden campaign helped to strategize about the public release of the statement.” Morell “testified that he sent an email telling Nick Shapiro… that the Biden campaign wanted the statement to go to a particular reporter at the Washington Post first and that he should send the statement to the campaign when he sent the letter to the reporter.”

Jordan originally sent letters to many of the 51 former intelligence officials in April last year, but those requests were largely ignored. He followed up with demands for information from a dozen of the ex-spy officials in February and March of this year.

Jordan and Turner told the signatories this year that the letter “falsely implied the New York Post’s reporting about Hunter Biden was the product of Russian disinformation.”

Morell also testified that there were “two intents” behind writing the laptop letter.

“One intent was to share our concern with the American people that the Russians were playing on this issue,” Morell said. “And, two, it was help Vice President Biden.”

Jordan asked Morell, “You wanted to help the vice president why?” Morell replied, “Because I wanted him to win the election.”

Konstantinos "Gus" Dimitrelos, a cyber forensics expert and former Secret Service agent, conducted an examination of the laptop for the Washington Examiner last year, concluding that “there is a 100% certainty that Robert Hunter Biden was the only person responsible for the activity on this hard drive and all of its stored data” and that “the hard drive is authentic.”

Jim Jordan demands answers on low ICE deportations

Misty Severi

March 27, 11:05 PM March 27, 11:05 PM

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent letters to immigration officials on Monday. He questioned whether the officials are moving aggressively enough to detain and deport immigrants that enter the United States illegally.

Jordan requested that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials appear before the judiciary committee for transcribed interviews related to their enforcement of federal immigration laws, or lack thereof.

SENATE DEMOCRATS WARN BIDEN AGAINST DETAINING MIGRANT FAMILIES

Jordan's letter, which was sent to five acting assistant directors at ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations Office and field office directors in five cities, highlights relatively low numbers of deportations in 2021 and 2022, the growing population of nondetained illegal immigrants, and unused detention space.

In fiscal 2021 and 2022, the average number of removals of illegal aliens declined by 70%, according to Jordan, and 11,000 available detention spaces have been left empty by the Biden administration during a period of skyrocketing illegal immigration.

"This decision to leave so many spaces empty raises serious questions about ICE ERO’s performance of its mission to 'protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws,'" Jordan said.

The requests come as House Republicans examine agencies to slash funding from. It also comes shortly after House GOP leadership instructed Jordan to reschedule a meeting that was scheduled for this week, wherein eight bills the party had prioritized were supposed to be taken up in the first step toward a House floor vote.

Those eight bills will now not see any action until, at the earliest, mid-April after lawmakers return from Easter recess, according to a report by Punchbowl News on Thursday.

GOP-led House panel to use investigative powers and ‘respond’ to potential Trump indictment

Heather Hamilton

March 20, 06:29 AM March 20, 06:33 AM

The GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government is set to ramp up investigations into President Joe Biden's family and the use of federal funds by Manhattan’s Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The panel, led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), “is expected to respond” to Bragg’s possible indictment of former President Donald Trump with an investigation and potential hearings, according to a report.

WATCH: BYRON DONALDS CALLS POTENTIAL INDICTMENT ‘FLAT OUT WRONG’

On Sunday, while at the House Republican retreat in Orlando, Florida, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) asserted Republicans will investigate the use of federal funds by Bragg. McCarthy noted that an announcement from Jordan’s panel could be expected Monday.

Trump predicted that he was going to be arrested as early as Tuesday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, calling the Manhattan district attorney's office "corrupt and highly political."

Trump’s statement followed several reports that Bragg is preparing to indict him on charges related to the investigation into alleged hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Republicans have said they believe Bragg’s efforts to potentially indict Trump are an abuse of power and politically motivated.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) called the possible indictment of Trump a part of the "gotcha mentality" in the current legal system, saying it is “one of the worst uses of the justice system we’ve ever seen” and is “flat out wrong.”

News of Trump's possible indictment comes amid House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announcing that records seem to indicate additional business deals occurred between China and the Biden family.

WATCH: Jim Jordan demands answers from Fauci on COVID origin

Heather Hunter

March 05, 04:41 PM March 05, 04:41 PM

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said Sunday that he wants to know why Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease official who became the face of America's COVID-19 pandemic response, was "so consumed" with countering the narrative surrounding the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both the Energy Department and the FBI recently revealed that new intelligence prompted the federal agencies to conclude that a laboratory leak in China "most likely" caused the Coronavirus pandemic. Despite labeling the conclusions “low confidence,” it was the first revelation from any federal agency giving credibility to the virus originating from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China.

CPAC 2023: CRUZ SUGGESTS FAUCI BE THROWN IN JAIL FOR 'LYING UNDER OATH'

"The fundamental question is, why was Dr. Fauci so consumed with making sure the narrative wasn't about the lab?" Jordan asked Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo.

"I think it's because they were doing gain of function research there. He didn't want that out, and that was the narrative that everyone to the Left bought into—even though the facts and common sense, maybe most importantly, pointed to the lab leak theory," Jordan said.

The House Judiciary Committee chairman explained how Fauci received an email on Jan. 31, 2020, with the analysis that the virus "looks engineered" and was "not consistent with evolutionary theory." The following day on Feb. 1, the infectious disease expert allegedly received another email from a doctor saying, "I don’t know how this happens in nature, it would be easy to do in a lab."

Jordan then pointed to Fauci organizing a conference call with top virologists leading to all of the doctors contradicting their initial analyses of a possible lab leak.

The Ohio congressman further pointed to the suspicious nature of these key infectious disease doctors who changed their findings also received a "several million dollar grant to continue their research" three months later.

"Time and time again, they told us things that were not accurate," Jordan told Bartiromo. "Again, the fundamental question is, why? What was—was it politics motivating or what? But I always tell people, I always say we’re Americans, we’re big boys and girls, we can handle it... quit lying to us."

The congressman pointed to two key Capitol Hill hearings coming up this week that will tackle the government's handling of Coronavirus. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic will hold its first hearing on the pandemic's origins on Wednesday, March 8, and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government will hold a hearing on Thursday, Feb. 9 to explore "the politicization of the FBI and DOJ and attacks on American civil liberties."

House GOP leadership released a new memo from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Sunday suggesting Dr. Fauci had worked to "disprove" the COVID-19 lab leak theory.

"New evidence released by the Select Subcommittee today suggests that Dr. Fauci ‘prompted’ the drafting of a publication that would ‘disprove’ the lab leak theory, the authors of this paper skewed available evidence to achieve that goal," the memo says.

MS-13 gang murder of Maryland autistic woman sparks Biden administration investigation

Anna Giaritelli

February 28, 06:00 AM February 28, 06:00 AM

EXCLUSIVE — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has demanded two Biden Cabinet officials explain how an MS-13 gang member who was charged in the murder of an autistic Maryland woman was allowed into the United States after illegally crossing the border, according to a letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner.

Jordan asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in letters sent late Monday to provide detailed information about an El Salvador immigrant who federal officials knew was a gang member but was let out of custody by both departments and allowed to live in the U.S.

BIDEN'S INTEREST IN TACKLING FENTANYL COULD 'UNITE' CONGRESS, REPUBLICAN SAYS

“The Biden Administration’s open-border policies have created vulnerabilities that criminal aliens and gang members exploit to the detriment of American citizens,” Jordan and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), chairman of an immigration subcommittee, wrote in a letter to Becerra. “Pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to conduct oversight of federal immigration policy and procedures.”

The decision to investigate follows pleas from the victim Kayla Hamilton's mother, Tammy Nobles, to explain why a known criminal slipped through the immigration system and onto the streets of Aberdeen, Maryland, before killing the 20-year-old woman in her bedroom. The Republicans cited the Washington Examiner's reporting in their letters to the Biden administration.

The suspect, whose name has not been released because of his age, was apprehended in Rio Grande City, Texas, in March 2022 and taken into custody by federal Border Patrol agents. As is protocol, the suspect was turned over to HHS, which is tasked by Congress with caring for unaccompanied children and finding sponsors to release them to within the U.S.

“The suspect was arrested at the border in Rio Grande City, Texas," Nobles previously told the Washington Examiner. "We do not know if his background was checked or not."

Police in Aberdeen learned earlier this year that he was an MS-13 gang member, but it is not known whether he was on the federal government’s radar or if federal police performed a background screening when he entered the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, did not disclose in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner in February if it screened the suspect at the border.

"CBP screens migrants utilizing a range of criteria and methods that are law enforcement sensitive," according to a statement from CBP. "Methods for assessing the validity of migrants’ age include the collection of biometric and biographic information such as fingerprints, photos, phone numbers, addresses, and documentation provided by migrants or government agencies. Identification and age determination are also determined through background investigations, agent interviews, and consulate verification."

While in government custody, the suspect identified a woman in Frederick, Maryland, as his aunt, according to Aberdeen police.

The suspect went to live with his aunt and then moved out and into a rented room in a three-bedroom mobile home, where Hamilton and her boyfriend lived.

Hamilton was found deceased by her boyfriend roughly half a day after she had been raped and strangled to death in her bed on July 27, 2022. Hamilton had returned home from an overnight shift at a grocery store when the suspect entered her and her boyfriend’s shared bedroom against her will.

Noble said her daughter loved her siblings and had been excited to start her own life with her boyfriend.

Republicans asked Becerra to turn over HHS’s case file on the suspect, including when he entered HHS and left DHS custody, information on its efforts to reunite him with a family member in the country, if and how HHS attempted to verify the suspect’s claim that he was a minor, if, how, and when it learned of the suspect’s MS-13 gang status, and if it verified that he was related to the woman who he was released to.

Mayorkas was asked for information about the suspect’s immigration history, benefits applications, consular file, and immigration status. Republicans asked that DHS share all information that agents learned about the suspect when he was first intercepted.

Jordan and McClintock gave the secretaries until March 13 to provide responses.

McCarthy phone calls for investigation into Garland next FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago

Juliegrace Brufke

August 08, 10:13 PM August 08, 10:56 PM

House Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is threatening to examine Attorney Standard Merrick Garland for approving an FBI raid of previous President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, alleging the Division of Justice’s final decision to research the home was politically enthusiastic.

The FBI’s lookup reportedly pertains to bins of resources the former president brought back with him to his Florida vacation resort.

The California congressman asserted that if Republicans acquire back again the bulk in the Home, they will quickly launch an investigation.

'BANANA REPUBLIC': RON DESANTIS SLAMS FBI MAR-A-LAGO RAID

“I’ve seen sufficient. The Section of Justice has achieved an intolerable state of weaponized politicization,” he claimed in a tweeted take note. “When Republicans acquire again the Residence, we will perform speedy oversight of this department, adhere to the points, and depart no stone unturned. Attorney General Garland, protect your documents and obvious your calendar.”

Trump-allied conservatives were swift to slam the Mar-a-Lago raid, which started out all over 10 a.m. on Monday, with leading Republicans voicing assistance for the former president and contacting for hearings.

“Hunter Biden skates free when DOJ executes a political plot to ruin lives of political opponents. This is un-American and @Jim_Jordan led Judiciary Committee hearings in January can not appear before long sufficient!” Republican Analyze Committee Chairman Jim Banking companies (R-IN) tweeted.

“This is what transpires in 3rd world international locations. Not the United States. Doesn’t the FBI have much better issues to do than harass the former PRESIDENT?” The GOP’s Household Judiciary Committee account, which is operate by ranking member Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) staff, tweeted.

Trump confirmed federal investigators entered the premises in a assertion on Monday night, alleging the lookup was unwarranted.

“These are dim times for our Nation, as my wonderful dwelling, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is at present underneath siege, raided, and occupied by a massive team of FBI brokers," he explained in the statement. "Very little like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. Just after operating and cooperating with the related Government companies, this unannounced raid on my house was not important or appropriate. It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice Method, and an attack by Radical Remaining Democrats who desperately really don't want me to operate for President in 2024.”

The Justice Division and the FBI declined to comment.

The raid will come in the wake of the Nationwide Archives confirming that improperly saved presidential information that had been in 15 bins ended up acquired from Mar-a-Lago earlier this yr, reportedly made up of labeled national protection facts.

Household passes sweeping gun reform legislation but faces uphill fight in Senate

Juliegrace Brufke

June 08, 07:26 PM June 08, 08:17 PM

The Household handed a raft of gun reform payments mainly alongside social gathering lines Wednesday night in response to many mass shootings that took location in recent months.

The Shielding Our Kids Act, a compilation of 8 gun-linked expenses, involves language to boost the age restrict to get selected semi-automated rifles from 18 to 21, codify restrictions on bump stocks, ban the “import, sale, manufacture, and possession of massive-capability publications,” and increase laws on the storage of firearms. It also consists of language that would bar straw purchases of firearms.

5 Republicans — Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Fitzpatrick, Adam Kinzinger, Chris Jacobs, and Fred Upton — bucked social gathering strains and voted in favor of the measure. Jacobs not too long ago announced he was dropping his reelection bid just after struggling with backlash for voicing aid for an assault weapons ban and boosting the age to purchase a firearm. Centrist Democratic Reps. Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Jared Golden of Maine voted from the laws. The closing vote tally was 223-204.

When the evaluate faces an uphill fight in the upper chamber, with Republicans unlikely to assist the package deal, best Democrats argued that the May well 14 grocery retailer capturing in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 dead the Could 24 Uvalde, Texas, elementary college massacre that resulted in the loss of life of 19 young children and two teachers the June 1 Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital taking pictures that still left five useless and the mass shooting on Philadelphia's South Street that led to a few deaths and several accidents over the weekend indicate that key reforms are warranted.

MIAH CERRILLO, FOURTH GRADER FROM UVALDE, TESTIFIES IN Home Hearing ON GUN VIOLENCE

“The mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Tulsa, and all also many metropolitan areas — just this previous weekend, we learned of but a different horrific incident in Philadelphia and still more carnage in Tennessee, Arizona, Virginia, [and] South Carolina, and those people are just the tales we saw in the news,” Dwelling Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who held a rare recess-7 days listening to to go the costs by means of committee very last 7 days, stated on the flooring forward of the vote.

“Day immediately after working day, we see extra life shed to gun violence in our colleges, on our streets, in our properties of worship, in our residences, touching just about every region of the region, and we listen to from our constituents crying out for us to consider motion. Currently, we heed that contact. HR 7910, the Shielding Our Kids Act, is extensive laws to address the scourge of gun violence, a blight that killed nearly 45,000 People in 2020 by yourself.”

The laws been given strong pushback from Republicans, who argued that the improvements would not have prevented the current shootings and would infringe on regulation-abiding citizens' 2nd Modification rights.

“What took place in Uvalde, Buffalo, and Tulsa is as erroneous as incorrect could be, and our hearts go out to people communities and people households who have been impacted in these kinds of a awful way, but the respond to is not to damage the Second Modification. But that is precisely where by the Democrats want to go. You never have to just take my phrase for it — just search what they claimed. Last 7 days, the president of the United States said he wishes to get rid of the most well-known handgun in the state,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) reported through debate.

“Michael Moore, Democrat, not a member of Congress ... stated it's time to repeal the Next Amendment. Throughout our 10-hour markup last Thursday, in the committee listening to, Rep. [Sheila] Jackson Lee states if this bill passes, we're not completed. Rep. [Mondaire] Jones stated if this invoice won't go, we will conclude the filibuster, we will broaden the Supreme Court docket, we are going to do what ever we can get to get law-abiding Americans' guns. ... Several of the features in these costs are unconstitutional — even the 9th Circuit said it really is unconstitutional.”

Whilst the measure isn’t predicted to grow to be law, a group of bipartisan senators have expressed optimism that they will attain an agreement on a a lot more slim monthly bill aimed at assisting suppress gun violence that they consider can garner the 60 votes desired to triumph over the filibuster.

Its passage arrives shortly just after the Dwelling Oversight and Reform Committee held an psychological hearing that bundled testimony from Miah Cerrillo, a fourth grade scholar who survived the Uvalde university taking pictures.

Trump allies launch countermessaging efforts in advance of Jan. 6 hearings

Juliegrace Brufke

June 08, 06:30 AM June 08, 06:31 AM

As the Jan. 6 committee gears up for its first general public listening to Thursday, previous President Donald Trump’s most vocal allies in the Home are launching their countermessaging attempts in a force to paint the panel as illegitimate.

GOP critics of the panel, which is composed of seven Democrats and two "In no way Trump" Republicans, have very long blasted it as a “partisan witch hunt." They have repeatedly slammed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) choice to reject Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) collection of Reps. Jim Banking institutions (R-IN) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) to the committee, which is tasked with investigating the fatal attack on the Capitol.

The committee’s announcement of the key-time hearing stated it would element “unseen content documenting January 6th, get witness testimony, preview supplemental hearings, and supply the American people today a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-phase effort to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election and reduce the transfer of electrical power,” with U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards and documentary filmmaker Nick Quested slated to testify.

In a phone with reporters Tuesday, House Republican Meeting Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Jordan, Financial institutions, and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) asserted that conservative lawmakers have no options of remaining silent in advance of the hearings, which are slated to be aired on a number of main networks.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK LEANING Towards Household REPUBLICAN WHIP BID

“This 7 days, the Dwelling Republican Conference, performing with all of our associates, will be environment the history straight and telling the real truth to the American individuals — sharing the information and also pointing out how unparalleled and unconstitutional and illegitimate this committee is,” Stefanik mentioned.

Users of the committee, led by Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), have dismissed GOP critics’ accusations that it is politically inspired, insisting that they are searching to uncover the truth of the matter about what led to the lethal siege.

Stefanik and Jordan the two took purpose at the committee’s choice to convey on previous ABC News executive James Goldston to generate the hearings.

“Democrats have employed the former president of ABC News to make a partisan documentary, and their initial witness is heading to be a documentarian. We obtained that news nowadays,” Jordan claimed. “The aim, it appears to be to me, is to end the Electoral College or university since they have explained — Mr. Raskin has said that and to make absolutely sure that they test to make confident that President Trump will not run for president and are not able to get elected to that business.”

Stefanik went so considerably as trying to paint Goldston as a Jeffrey Epstein sympathizer although using goal at the committee.

“Just this week, we learned that Nancy Pelosi’s illegitimate sham Jan. 6 witch hunt secretly employed the previous president of ABC News to be the producer for their shameless primary-time listening to,” she ongoing.

“This is the same producer who prevented his own community from airing interviews with Jeff Epstein's victims. Shameful. It is completely shameful that the Democrats would employ the service of a person who was complicit in the protect-up for Jeff Epstein," Stefanik reported. "And this even more solidifies what we have known from working day one particular: that this committee is not about trying to find the reality. It is a witch hunt to smear their political opponents.”

Perry — 1 of the 5 GOP lawmakers subpoenaed by the committee, alongside with Jordan, McCarthy, and Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama and Andy Biggs of Arizona — alleged that Democrats have opted not to remedy Republicans’ issues about protection failures that authorized for the campus to be breached, attempting to put some of the blame on Pelosi.

“On Jan. 7, on the Dwelling flooring, I questioned what did Speaker Pelosi know and when did she know it. And of training course, we have in no way been ready to request that concern,” he explained. "And I suspect that issue will in no way be asked. There is culpability listed here since the speaker is dependable for the protection of the Capitol.”

Banking institutions asserted that the GOP-led investigation he has overseen ideas to release a report on findings pertaining to shortcomings on basic safety measures forward of the attack, which he argues the decide on committee has not put a large more than enough emphasis on.

“I guarantee you, as we keep on to place the finishing touches on our personal report, again, we don't have subpoena authority. ... We do not have employees resources, we will not have committee jurisdiction, but we even now went to function to dig into [security] issues,” he said. “[We] interviewed a number of Capitol police officers, whistleblowers, and other people connected to the protection at the Capitol that working day to formulate our have report, which we will appear out with, that will be much far more substantive than anything at all that you will see on primary-time Tv set this week.”

Trump allies launch countermessaging efforts ahead of Jan. 6 hearings

Juliegrace Brufke

June 08, 06:30 AM June 08, 06:31 AM

As the Jan. 6 committee gears up for its first public hearing Thursday, former President Donald Trump’s most vocal allies in the House are launching their countermessaging efforts in a push to paint the panel as illegitimate.

GOP critics of the panel, which is composed of seven Democrats and two "Never Trump" Republicans, have long blasted it as a “partisan witch hunt." They have repeatedly slammed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) decision to reject Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) selection of Reps. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) to the committee, which is tasked with investigating the deadly attack on the Capitol.

The committee’s announcement of the prime-time hearing stated it would feature “unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, preview additional hearings, and provide the American people a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power,” with U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards and documentary filmmaker Nick Quested slated to testify.

In a call with reporters Tuesday, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Jordan, Banks, and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) asserted that conservative lawmakers have no plans of remaining silent ahead of the hearings, which are slated to be aired on multiple major networks.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK LEANING AGAINST HOUSE REPUBLICAN WHIP BID

“This week, the House Republican Conference, working with all of our members, will be setting the record straight and telling the truth to the American people — sharing the facts and also pointing out how unprecedented and unconstitutional and illegitimate this committee is,” Stefanik said.

Members of the committee, led by Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), have dismissed GOP critics’ accusations that it is politically motivated, insisting that they are looking to uncover the truth about what led to the deadly siege.

Stefanik and Jordan both took aim at the committee’s decision to bring on former ABC News executive James Goldston to produce the hearings.

“Democrats have hired the former president of ABC News to produce a partisan documentary, and their first witness is going to be a documentarian. We got that news today,” Jordan said. “The goal, it seems to me, is to end the Electoral College because they've said — Mr. Raskin has said that and to make sure that they try to make sure that President Trump will not run for president and cannot get elected to that office.”

Stefanik went so far as attempting to paint Goldston as a Jeffrey Epstein sympathizer while taking aim at the committee.

“Just this week, we learned that Nancy Pelosi’s illegitimate sham Jan. 6 witch hunt secretly hired the former president of ABC News to be the producer for their shameless prime-time hearing,” she continued.

“This is the same producer who prevented his own network from airing interviews with Jeff Epstein's victims. Shameful. It is absolutely shameful that the Democrats would hire someone who was complicit in the cover-up for Jeff Epstein," Stefanik said. "And this further solidifies what we have known from day one: that this committee is not about seeking the truth. It is a witch hunt to smear their political opponents.”

Perry — one of the five GOP lawmakers subpoenaed by the committee, along with Jordan, McCarthy, and Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama and Andy Biggs of Arizona — alleged that Democrats have opted not to answer Republicans’ questions about security failures that allowed for the campus to be breached, attempting to place some of the blame on Pelosi.

“On Jan. 7, on the House floor, I asked what did Speaker Pelosi know and when did she know it. And of course, we've never been able to ask that question,” he said. "And I suspect that question will never be asked. There is culpability here because the speaker is responsible for the security of the Capitol.”

Banks asserted that the GOP-led investigation he has overseen plans to release a report on findings pertaining to shortcomings on safety measures ahead of the attack, which he argues the select committee has not placed a heavy enough emphasis on.

“I assure you, as we continue to put the finishing touches on our own report, again, we don't have subpoena authority. ... We don't have staff resources, we don't have committee jurisdiction, but we still went to work to dig into [security] questions,” he said. “[We] interviewed a number of Capitol police officers, whistleblowers, and others related to the security at the Capitol that day to formulate our own report, which we will come out with, that will be far more substantive than anything that you will see on prime-time TV this week.”

Jim Jordan shares allegations of FBI 'purge' above Jan. 6

Daniel Chaitin

June 07, 10:56 PM June 07, 11:47 PM

Multiple former FBI officials are coming forward with details suggesting the bureau is "purging" employees with conservative viewpoints, in accordance to Home Judiciary Committee Republicans.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the rating member of the panel, despatched a letter to Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday outlining new allegations that relate to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

'ALL More than THE AIRWAVES': TRUMP-ALIGNED REPUBLICANS Ready Program TO DROWN OUT JAN. 6 HEARINGS

"In a single such instance, the FBI targeted and suspended the security clearance of a retired war servicemember who experienced disclosed individual sights that the FBI was not remaining totally forthcoming about the activities of January 6. The FBI questioned the whistleblower's allegiance to the United States inspite of the actuality that the whistleblower honorably served in the United States army for various several years — such as deployments in Kuwait and Iraq — valiantly earning numerous army commendation medals," a push release for the letter states.

"In addition, yet another whistleblower, who has considering that left the FBI, has educated us that faced retaliation for criticizing the FBI in an nameless survey circulated by the [REDACTED] to workforce subsequent January 6. The FBI allegedly escalated an adverse staff action towards this worker following [REDACTED] commented on the survey, which sought suggestions about the [REDACTED] actions 'during the new crisis/command post' event. The worker, much too, was hardly ever disciplined or reprimanded right up until just after [REDACTED] criticized the FBI," the letter reads.

The names of the former officers do not show up, as the letter attributes various redactions, but Jordan pressured many "whistleblowers have referred to as it a 'purge' of FBI personnel holding conservative sights." He reminded Wray that "whistleblower disclosures to Congress are shielded by law and that we will not tolerate any energy to retaliate towards whistleblowers for their disclosures."

Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Justice Department Inspector Typical Michael Horowitz were despatched a duplicate.

Jordan also reported a prior letter, sent Might 6, details allegations of the FBI suspending the stability clearances of bureau employees for their participation in safeguarded First Modification activity, and he claimed the FBI failed to react or present a requested briefing.

Wray, for his aspect, has defended the bureau against appropriate-wing promises of political bias with its investigations into individuals involved in the Capitol riot and the FBI's dealing with of an intelligence report one particular working day before the violence took spot.

Jordan instructed WHD News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday that, in total, six FBI officers have approached the committee, two associated to a controversy encompassing a school boards memo and four associated to Jan. 6.

"We are conducting oversight to guarantee the FBI is not retaliating against FBI workforce for exercising their Very first Modification legal rights and engaging in disfavored political speech," he wrote in the new letter.

"We reiterate our before requests for your personalized assurance that the FBI will cooperate entirely with the Division of Justice's Workplace of Inspector General's assessment of these issues and for a briefing on the FBI’s purge of workforce holding disfavored viewpoints," Jordan additional.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the FBI for comment. The letter was disclosed as the House Jan. 6 committee prepares to hold the initial in a collection of June hearings Thursday.