(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Johnson Endangers National Security In Service To Trump [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-12 When he [Mike Johnson] calls himself a constitutionalist you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. What constitution? – Ari Melber *** U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants you to believe he’s a Christian. He’s not. Not even close. He is a liar, and a willing supporter of corruption. The more we see and hear of Johnson the more his hypocrisy becomes evident. The latest evidence: this God-fearing, righteous man has endangered our national security by placing two allies of former President Donald Trump on the House Intelligence Committee. Yes, this vital committee now has two political hacks whose allegiance is to Trump and Republican dogma, not the country. God help us. The two hacks in question are Rep. Scott Perry of my state of Pennsylvania (sorry America) and Rep Ronny Jackson of Texas. Not surprisingly, both have faced legal and ethical issues. So now they’re to be entrusted with critical intelligence information. Why do I think this won’t end well? Perry, former chairman of the Right-wing House Freedom Caucus, played a major role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the New York Times reported. Jackson was demoted by the Pentagon amid allegations that he mistreated subordinates, sexually harassed a woman, and drank and took sleeping pills while serving as the White House physician. Jackson has also been accused by congressional ethics investigators of improperly using campaign donations to pay for unlimited access for himself and his wife to a private dining club in Amarillo, Texas, the Times said. So far, the committee has taken no action on that complaint. I guess the food must be really good there. Here’s something: Punchbowl News reports that the appointments were made at the behest of Trump. That’s not surprising because the gutless Johnson has shown himself to be one of Trump’s biggest bootlickers. They replace two mainstream Republicans who’ve resigned. The move came as a surprise to Rep. Michael Turner, the committee’s chairman, who learned about it on social media, Punchbowl News reported. Makes you wonder why he wasn’t consulted or at least told in advance. Well, when you’re trying to sabotage an important House committee you probably don’t want to tell the chairman, unless he’s in on the plot, and there’s no reason to think Turner wants anything to do with that effort. The Times reported that “The panel has historically operated in a bipartisan manner, and is largely composed of serious-minded lawmakers rather than strident partisans.” Well, those days are over. There are a lot of possible problems here. You can’t trust men like Perry and Jackson, so who’s to say they won’t pass on intelligence to Trump or his allies? Is it hard to imagine secret information about Russia going to the Trump campaign and then to Russian President Vladimir Putin? The Times reported that there are fears that the intelligence community might pull back on the sensitive national security information it shares with Congress. If I was them, I’d do exactly that. The stakes are too high and the possible damage to our country and its national security are too devastating to do otherwise. If you trust Perry and Jackson any further than you can throw them then I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Democrats and even some mainstream Republicans expressed opposition to the appointments due to the ethical and legal issues the two men are facing. Punchbowl News reported that several members of the committee are worried about the integrity of the panel after the two appointments. Actually, they won’t have to worry about its integrity because once Perry and Jackson take their seats it won’t have any. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat and former Navy helicopter pilot said it best: Johnson is “putting his MAGA agenda ahead of our national security – at Donald Trump’s direction.” Perry and Jackson will “weaponize the Intel Committee to support Trump’s agenda.” Perry pretty much spilled the beans about the havoc he’ll be happy to cause when he said, “I look forward to providing not only a fresh perspective, but conducting actual oversight – not blind obedience to some facets of our intel community that too often abuses their powers, resources, and authority to spy on the American people.” Translation: I’m spouting this conspiracy theory because I’m here to foment public distrust of the intelligence community, all to make it easier to dispute any intelligence that makes Trump or his authoritarian friends – like Putin – look bad or even hints that they’re doing anything wrong. The Republicans have declared they want to destroy the administrative state. Specifically, they hate the intelligence committee because of its work in Trump’s first of two impeachments. Remember, the former president has declared he’ll seek revenge against his enemies if he gets back in office. They want to tear down government. Anything that stands in the way of Trump’s corruption and consolidation of power for himself if he gets a second term has to be negated, and if national security is compromised, who cares. You can read the Times story here. You can read the Punchbowl News report here. *** This is more than just another exercise in pointing out the damage a Trump presidency will do to our country. This is showing just how the Republicans will do anything to get him elected. How they’re more than happy to do anything he tells them to do – in this case endangering our national security. I know all this Trump news can be overwhelming, and a lot of people tune it out. But if enough of us don’t understand the threat he and the Republicans are to our democracy and rule of law, how they’ll stop at nothing, including this latest stunt of sabotaging the committee that deals with critical intelligence information, then the possibility of Trump’s election becomes more likely. To be uninformed is to be unprepared, and if we’re unprepared to thwart this threat at the ballot box then we’re screwed. It’s as simple as that. Thank you for reading my post. You can see my other writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Please share and subscribe for free via email on its home page. 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