House Speaker
Kevin McCarthy is following
through on one of his promises
to retaliate against Democrats
who voted to remove
two Republicans from House committees
back in 2021.
Now that he has the gavel, McCarthy
this week
removed two Democrats
from a key committee
and is working on a third.
All three of those Democrats join me now,
Congresswoman Ilhan
Omar of Minnesota
and Congressman Adam Schiff
and Eric Swalwell of California.
Thank you one and all for joining me.
I appreciate it.
I know that there's a lot to talk about
in terms of the politics
of what's happening here,
but I want to air out
some of the substance
of the Republican allegations.
And Congressman, I'll start with you
You said that there was direct evidence
of the fact
that Donald Trump
colluded with Russia back in 2016.
Special Counsel
Robert Mueller said in his report quote
The investigation did not establish
that members
of the Trump
campaign conspired or coordinated
with the Russian government.
Republicans argue that's proof
that you used your position
on the Intelligence Committee
to intentionally mislead Americans,
which is why
you should not be on that committee.
If you read the Mueller report,
he makes clear,
even in the first few pages
of the report, that he states
no conclusion
on whether Donald Trump and his campaign
colluded with the Russians.
But what he does reveal in this report,
what we found in our investigation
is that Donald Trump's
campaign manager was sharing
internal campaign polling data
and the strategy
for key battleground states
with an agent of Russian intelligence
while that same unit of Russian
intelligence was helping
the Trump campaign,
both with the hacking
and dumping operation,
as well as a social media operation
to elect Donald Trump to most Americans.
That is collusion.
Now, whether it's proof
beyond reasonable doubt
of the crime of conspiracy,
that's what Bob
Mueller was talking about.
I've always distinguish between the two.
But but let me just,
you know, set the record straight.
This is only one of a shifting series
of rationalizations and pretexts
that McCarthy is using.
Well, let me let me give you another.
He says that
this is part
of a pattern
ahead of the first Trump impeachment.
You said the committee had not spoken
to a whistleblower.
In fact, that turned out not to be true.
You know,
The Washington Post
said so in their factcheck.
The Washington Post identified that, yes,
before the person became a whistleblower,
they sought advice from the committee.
When I was asked the question,
I thought they were referring to
whether we had
brought the whistleblower in.
And I should have been
more clear in my answer.
But but again, let's be clear
what's really going on here.
McCarthy has said Adam Schiff prosecuted
the case against Trump Ukraine
Impeachment was a hoax.
You know, he's given 15 explanations.
The only real explanation is
he needs Marjorie Taylor Greene vote in.
It's Paul Gosar. Is vote.
He wants to retaliate for their removal
from the committee.
And apparently,
he believes I was very effective
in exposing his misconduct.
Donald Trump's misconduct.
And that's what they're trying to stop.
So, you know,
I think that he benefits from having
these smears repeated
And that's part of what he gains from it.
But this is a pretext and nothing more.
And which is why
this is a chance for you to explain
and to give your side of that
as opposed to just simply repeating it
on that.
Congressman, you were also removed
by Republicans
from the Intelligence Committee
with the speaker said about you.
Is that beginning in 2012,
a suspected Chinese
spy develop ties to you
and to your office, even put an intern
there, raise campaign funds for you.
You say very clearly you cut off ties
with this person
back in 20, 15
when you found out
you cooperated with the FBI.
But the bottom line question is this
did you put yourself
in a vulnerable position in any way
so that this alleged Chinese spy
could have benefited
or even learn American secrets?
Absolutely not.
But, Dana, don't take my word for it.
Take the FBI's word for it.
They never
talk about ongoing investigations
and former Chairman Schiff knows this
as a member of the Gang of Eight.
Three different times
they came out and said two things.
All I did was help them.
And also,
I was never under
any suspicion of wrongdoing.
But more than that,
Chairman,
Speaker
Boehner was briefed
on this investigation.
He could have removed me
just as Speaker McCarthy did.
He didn't.
Devin Nunes
was the chair
of the Intelligence Committee.
Never made a public peep about this.
Paul Ryan would have access
to the same investigation.
Reappointed me to the committee.
Donald Trump,
who villainized me at every rally.
More access to classified information
than any person who walked the earth.
If he could have weaponized
that to go after me
you know, he would have.
There's nothing there.
I did what every American should have.
This is some Bakersfield B.S.
It's Kevin McCarthy
weaponizing his ability
to commit this political abuse
because he perceives me just like Mr.
Schiff and MS.
Omar as an effective political opponent.
Well, let me ask you,
Congresswoman Omar,
about what Republicans
are saying about you,
that there is a pattern of anti-Semitic
and other controversial statements
that make you unfit to sit on.
In your case,
the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
I'm told that Republicans
presented a list in their meeting,
in their private meeting this past week.
Included in that list
is that you said that
Israel hypnotized the world.
You said Israel is an apartheid regime,
that politicians with pro-Israel stance
or stances were all about the Benjamins,
which you very notably apologized for,
that you support the BDS
movement, which a lot of people think
is rooted in anti-Semitism.
Compare the US and Israel to Hamas
and the Taliban.
I want to give you a chance
to respond
to all of that,
which they say is a clear pattern.
Yeah, I might have used words
at the time that I didn't understand
were trafficking in anti-Semitism.
When that was brought to my attention,
I apologize I owned up to it.
That's the kind of person that I am,
and I continue to work with my colleagues
and my community
to fight against antisemitism.
Now I've never compared
or made any comparisons.
What I was
referencing was a case
that was in front of the ICC
and if they want to debate
political differences, and
that's something that we should all have
the opportunity
to to do so, but to smear someone
and their their character,
their love for their country
and the work that they get to do
on a committee is is wrong.
And it is politically motivated
and in some cases is motivated
by the fact that many of these members
don't believe a Muslim
refugee, an African
should even be in Congress,
let alone have the opportunity
to serve on the floor before.
I mean,
it sounds like you're accusing
Kevin McCarthy of racism.
I mean, I'm not making any accusations.
I'm just laying out the facts.
You remember Donald Trump
coming into my state and saying Muslims,
Somali refugees
are infiltrating our country.
You remember Marjorie Taylor Greene
coming to Congress after Washington?
I got sworn in and saying
Muslims are infiltrating Congress.
You remember Boebert
saying that I was a terrorist?
What did McCarthy do?
He said she apologized
and we don't have to worry about
her Islamophobia.
That never happened.
And so these people are okay
with Islamophobia.
They're okay
with trafficking
in their own ways and antisemitism.
They are not okay with having a Muslim
have a voice on that committee.
Let me ask you, Congressman,
you are Jewish, and you have said
that you were worried about some tropes
that the congressman used
and which again, I want to be clear.
You apologize for that, for that one
all about the Benjamins.
Do you believe
that the pattern that your colleague here
has put out there
is, as Republicans are saying,
and some Democrats say,
rise to the level of antisemitism
then I believe that
this is all a pretext.
And if you look at
the leader of the Republican Party,
Donald Trump, he is dining
with white nationalists and anti-Semites.
The people that Kevin McCarthy
just put on committees
like Marjorie Taylor
Greene and others are speaking at white
nationalist rallies
This is,
you know,
as my colleague said, Bakersfield B.S.
This is all pretextual.
And I don't accept the premise
that this has anything
to do with the conduct
of any of the Democratic members.
This is merely the weakness of Kevin
McCarthy speakership that is so reliant
on these extreme members.
I mean, how can you, on the one hand,
suggest that
these are some kind of legitimate basis
for unseating Democrats on committees
and put someone like George
Santos on any committee?
The hypocrisy just grabbed you
by the throat.
So I don't want to dignify the pretext
that they're giving for any of us.
What they're doing
is really catering to the most
extreme members of their conference.
I just I do, though, want to ask, because
this has been out
there
and it is definitely
a big issue that we were going.
We're going to hear
a lot more about on the House floor
next week, Congresswoman.
So when you apologized
for that all
about the Benjamins
button comment,
you said antisemitism is real.
And I'm grateful for Jewish
allies and colleagues
who are educating me
on the painful
history of anti-Semitic tropes.
What did you learn?
A lot.
I certainly did not or was not aware
that the word hypnotize was a trope
I wasn't aware of, of the fact
that there are tropes
about Jews and money
that has been a very enlightening
part of of this journey
to insinuate that I knowingly said
these things
when people have read into my comments
to make it sound
as if I have something against
the Jewish community is so wrong.
If you remember
when I first got elected to Congress,
it was when the FBI report came out
and the rise of anti-Semitism
as a rep elected the first op ed I wrote
was on that report,
which I talked about
how it was important for us
as a community to coalesce around
the Jewish community
and fight against antisemitism.
I voted for every single resolution.
No Republican can say that
condemning anti-Semitism.