Former FBI special agent Clint Watts panned congressional Republicans for subpoenaing former FBI Director James Comey to testify behind closed doors prior to Democrats taking control of the chamber.
The subpoena, by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), was revealed by Comey -- who argued for a public hearing to prevent "selective leaking" by Republicans.
Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. I’m still happy to sit in the light and answer all quest… https://t.co/8eQVhlO40w— James Comey (@James Comey) 1542900090.0
"This is nonsense," Watts argued.
"I admire Director Comey, I would not go into a closed hearing -- at all," he explained.
Watts has given expert testimony on Capitol Hill before the House Foreign Affairs Committee plus the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Intelligence Committee and Armed Services Committee.
"This isn't transparency, it's conspiracy generation," he concluded. "I would not want to go into any House committee at this point behind closed doors."
Watch:
At least some House Republicans have said they're willing to risk global economic calamity to get spending cuts they want – though exactly how many are willing to do it is not yet clear.
Some GOP lawmakers have threatened to push the U.S. Treasury into default by voting against raising the debt ceiling, which could shake domestic and global markets and freeze Social Security payments and Medicare benefits, with a couple of them going on record with The Daily Beast.
"Of course," said first-term Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). “Look, we have record inflation, we’re in a recession, we have continued supply chain issues. We’ve got to get our fiscal house in order ... so yes, I would vote against it.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) responded when asked if he would do the same with a flat, "Yes," while Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) frequently tweets that Congress "cannot raise the debt ceiling."
House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), on the other hand, is seeking direct negotiations on a spending deal with Democrats and is set to meet Wednesday with President Joe Biden. An unknown number of GOP lawmakers who are unwilling to raise the debt limit are lurking in the shadows.
“There’s always a danger of what I call the barn-burners,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT). “If the door on the barn is broke, you don’t burn down the barn. You fix the door… the winter’s awfully cold.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has earned the nickname "Dr. No" for voting against almost everything, said he's willing to consider a raise under certain conditions, while Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the U.S. would not default on its debt due to constitutional obligations.
“Many believe, even constitutionally, that we have to pay the principal and interest on our debt,” Arrington said. “We have to pay our creditors -- like, you can’t not do that.”
Most Republicans are not even considering a vote risking default, whether or not that's constitutionally possible.
“A default’s bad, period," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). “We have a few people who have a history of not wanting to ever vote for a budget or [appropriations], but we’re in the governing majority — so I think we have some of our senior guys who are trying to say, ‘Hey, this is what it means to be part of a majority, you negotiate, you make a deal, you vote on it.’”
MSNBC News' Chris Hayes recently broke down remarks made by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that suggest Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) did not willingly make the decision to step down from his committee assignments.
Just one day after Santos met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), reports circulated about the freshman representative's decision to resign from the committees.
McCarthy claimed Santos made the decision. Sharing details about his conversation with the newly-elected lawmaker, McCarthy said, “We had a discussion and he asked me if he could do that. So, I think it was the appropriate decision.”
During his segment on Tuesday, Hayes offered a comparison of the contradictory remarks made by Greene and McCarthy. According to Hayes, Greene painted a very different picture than McCarthy about Santos’ committee departures.
“McCarthy made it seem like stepping down was entirely Santos’ idea,” Hayes said. “But then Marjorie Taylor Greene let the truth slip about what really motivated Santos to step aside.”
Hayes then shared a clip of Greene speaking with CNN where she insisted that McCarthy actually had Santos distance himself from the committees due to the Republican efforts being made to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“He just felt like that there was so much drama, really, over the situation, and especially what we’re doing to work to remove Ilhan Omar away from the Foreign Affairs Committee,” Greene stated.
Hayes then shared his reaction to the far-right lawmaker's claims.
“Ahhh, yes,” Hayes reacted. “There you have it! Republicans wanted to clear the decks, get rid of this annoying argument, like, ‘You’re gonna let George Santos serve on committees?’ So now, they can move to kick Congresswoman Omar off Foreign Affairs for absolutely no valid reason because George Santos, who should never have been put on any committees in the first place, really, when you think about it, has given up his assignments.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting a search of President Joe Biden's home in Rehoboth, Delaware on Wednesday, according to the president's personal attorney, Bob Bauer.
In a statement posted by Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich, Bauer said that the "planned search" was being conducted with Biden's "full support and cooperation."
Bauer went on to say that the search "is a further step in a thorough and timely DOJ process we will continue to fully support and facilitate."
Bauer also promised to release additional information at the conclusion of the search.
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Biden is currently facing an investigation by a special counsel over his handling of classified material, as classified documents have been found in multiple locations including his home in Delaware and his office at the the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.
Biden has insisted that he did nothing wrong and has sought to emphasize that he will cooperate with the special counsel's investigation.
Former President Donald Trump, who is also facing a special counsel investigation for his own handling of classified documents, has regularly attacked the DOJ and special counsel Jack Smith, whom he has labeled a "thug."
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