'Do they believe it?' Jan. 6 panelist suggests GOP knows latest conspiracy theory is false

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Ca.) on Wednesday suggested her House GOP colleagues are trafficking in conspiracy theories they know to be false.

Lofgren during an appearance on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” said the grilling of FBI Director Christopher Wray during Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, and in particular a conspiracy theory alleging Trump supporter Ray Epps instigated the insurrection, showed that Republicans aren't bargaining in good faith.

Epps on Wednesday filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging the right-wing network scapegoated him for the Jan. 6 insurrection, the timing of which wasn’t lost on Hayes.

Lofgren is a Judiciary Committee member and she attended Wednesday’s hearing.

“I wonder how tuned in are the minority members of the committee like yourself to this conspiracy theory, was it surprising to hear members of Congress talk about it, and try to further spin it on the very day that Fox is sued over, you know, essentially pushing this?” Hayes asked the California congresswoman.

“Well, the question is, do they believe it, or are they just trying to foist a conspiracy theory gonna gullible Republican public, but this conspiracy has been around for a while, as a matter of fact, the January 6 committee interviewed Mr. Epps under oath and he said he wasn't an agent or hadn't been, you know, ever contacted by the FBI,” Lofgren said.

Lofgren suggested that the Epps case is part of a broader pattern of Republicans spreading falsehoods for political gain.

“People who are trying to pretend that the rioters weren’t Trump supporters are not going to accept that because that's really not their goal,” Lofgren said.

“Their goal is not the truth. It's the exact opposite: to try and spin what happened in the something else. It's ridiculous, but it's also very destructive because they have convinced some Republicans that somehow January 6 was a peaceful protest,” Lofgren said.

“It's absurd, don’t believe your ‘lying eyes,’ but that's what they're trying to do.”

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