Mike Johnson's new appointments compared to 'Bonnie and Clyde in charge of bank security'
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) tore into House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for allowing a pair of firebrand pro-Trump lawmakers — Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Ronny Jackson (R-TX) — to serve on the House Intelligence Committee in a segment of MSNBC's "All In" on Thursday evening.
Both members, who were reportedly appointed at the direct request of former President Donald Trump, have a lengthy track record of pushing election conspiracy theories, and Perry in particular was actively involved in efforts to help Trump overturn the election results — despite the fact that one of the Intelligence Committee's main responsibilities is tracking foreign election interference. Moreover, in a huge departure from standard decorum, Johnson didn't even notify Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) he would be making the appointments.
"You served on that Intelligence Committee until the Republicans kicked you off," said anchor Chris Hayes. "How unusual is it for the speaker to appoint and not tell the chair of that committee?"
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"I've never seen it happen," said Swalwell. "That is so disrespectful."
"I mean, that committee, you meet three floors below the Capitol," he continued. "There's no cell phones, your staff's not allowed in, there's a lot of collegiality on that committee because you don't have the cameras and it is not so public and you want them to work well together. Putting Perry and Jackson on the Intel Committee would be like putting Bonnie and Clyde in charge of bank security. I mean, it's absurd."
"That committee, especially during election time — we did this in 16, 18, and 20 especially — you're focused on what foreign adversaries are doing to try to interfere in our election," Swalwell added. "And now you have two people at the behest of Donald Trump who are going to gum up the works that Turner, I think, will want to do to try to expose this and understand it."
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