The new weaponization subcommittee created by House Republicans -- and aimed at countering alleged abuse of government powers against conservatives -- held its first meeting Thursday. And it was a fiery affair as Dems and the GOP collided again and again over the very existene of the panel.
Democrats on the subcommittee said they believe the subcommittee itself is a weaponization of government to rally Republicans with what they call false conspiracy theories ahead of the 2024 elections.
"I'm deeply concerned about the use of this select subcommittee as a place to settle scores, showcase conspiracy theories, and advance an extreme agenda that risks undermining Americans' faith in our democracy," Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, told the panel.
The first hearing, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, featured testimony from some of the most veteran Republicans in Congress. Much of it focused on grievances about actions taken by federal officials when former President Donald Trump was in office.
"It's clear to me that the Justice Department and the FBI are suffering from a political infection that, if it's not defeated, will cause the American people to no longer trust these storied institutions," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in his testimony to the committee.
"What I'm about to tell you sounds like it's out of some fiction spy thriller, but it actually happened," he said.
"Over the course of our work in this committee, we expect to hear from government officials and experts like we have here today. We expect to hear from Americans who've been targeted by the government. We expect to hear from people in need. And we expect to hear from the FBI agents who have come forward as whistleblowers," Jordan said, according to The Hill. "Protecting the Constitution shouldn't be partisan."
The hearing touched on an array of topics, but laid bare the GOP's intent to expose what is has called politically driven decisions not only in law enforcement, but in tech and healthcase sectors.
Republicans attributed their claims of weaponization to private interviews with dozens of whistleblowers over the past two years, when they were in the minority in the House.
Grassley recounted a long list of oft-cited grievances -- one top item on the checklist, the origins of the investigation into alleged links between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Grassley also complained about what he said was unfair media coverage and criticism of his inquiry into President Joe Biden's family. (Biden's son Hunter has been dogged by allegations he peddled influence to his famous dad to secure plum corporate positions and financial gain.)
"They, in a sense, were basically calling us Russian stooges," Grassley said of attacks from Democratic colleagues.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, formerly the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in his own statement to the committee linked the past two presidential elections, the Jan. 6th attack and the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic into a wide-ranging allegation of wrongdoing by federal agencies ignored or covered up by the media.
"I have barely scratched the surface in describing the complexity, power, and destructive nature of forces that we face," Johnson testified.
In response, Democrats brought in Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a former constitutional lawyer and member of the Jan. 6 committee that disbanded last year, to make the opposite argument that it is congressional Republicans, not the federal government, who are weaponizing their oversight and investigative power, but against civil servants in the Biden administration.
And all of it, Raskin argued, is being done in a bid for achieve a degree of revenge for Trump as he embarks on a reelection presidential campaign in 2024.
"Now of course, a serious bipartisan committee focused on the weaponization of the government would zero in quickly on the Trump administration itself, which brought weaponization to frightening new levels across the board," Raskin said.
Raskin, who serves as ranking Democrat of the Oversight committee, voiced concerns that GOP pursuit of federal agencies and their employees could prove to be dangerous. He noted that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have observed an increase in violent threats against those individuals and facilities over the past year.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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