House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) revealed how Chair James Comer is aiding Russia in attacking the United States with false information.
What did Jamie Raskin communicate to James Comer regarding his use of Russian propaganda?
Raskin communicated with Comer about his recent claims that the CIA obstructed a DOJ investigation of Hunter Biden:
Even more concerning to me is this suspicious and significant fact: while the American public and media have learned to treat your succession of ineffective revelations in this investigation with appropriate skepticism and caution, your letter and its unconfirmed claims were quickly picked up and enthusiastically amplified by Sputnik, a Russian state-funded and state-directed media outlet, which, as per the Department of State, “play[s] an important role within Russia’s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem” by “using the guise of conventional international media outlets to provide disinformation and propaganda support for the Kremlin’s foreign policy objectives. A perfectly on time and unquestioning Sputnik article—titled “CIA Protecting Biden by Blocking IRS Interviews, Says Former Whistleblower”—includes direct quotes from and citations to your letter.
Always ready to add material to your claims, Sputnik, in its article, also acquired statements supporting your recent claims from two discredited Trump World figures: Bradley Birkenfeld, a Rudy Giuliani associate deeply involved in promoting allegations about Hunter Biden during the 2020 election; and Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist and
former Fox News contributor who briefly treated Hunter Biden before his professional license was revoked following allegations that he sexually exploited his own patients. One can only regard with amazement how quickly Sputnik identified these Trump World commentators to
back up this new story!
So, once again, the Committee’s comedy and directionless impeachment journey—material for late-night talk show hosts and a factor often cited by observers seeking to explain why so many of your GOP colleagues are resigning their seats in the middle of this historic “do-nothing” Congress—runs aground on the familiar sandbar of Russian propaganda and the well orchestrated mutterings of discredited and disgraced hangers-on in Trump World.
…
Despite this flood of official warnings and findings about efforts by Russian intelligence services to tarnish President Biden, you have eagerly and (charitably speaking) naively used our Committee to promote absurd allegations rooted in foreign disinformation and propaganda. Significantly, time and again, you have also denied the Committee’s Democratic Members any opportunity to examine or even review the information you have received, and you have failed to
offer any explanation of its sources.
…
Meanwhile, the Committee’s otherwise failed and absurd impeachment inquiry has settled into its final starring role on earth: as a highly valued and regularly touted feature event in Russian propaganda and disinformation theater. As the American press from CNN to Fox News now simply ignores or ridicules the blunders and antics of this conspiracy theory-filled journey to nowhere, Sputnik and RT—another state-owned and state-directed Russian media outlet that serves as a propaganda and disinformation arm of the Kremlin—have published numerous stories about Hunter Biden and this Committee’s impeachment inquiry, many of which, I am sad to report, directly and generously quote or cite from your own statements and speculations as Chairman. We are continuing to waste millions of dollars of American taxpayer money to provide unfounded rumors and gossip tidbits for Russian propaganda outlets promoting lies about our country.
Can James Comer face criminal charges for using Russian propaganda?
Simply put, no. Chairman Comer cannot be prosecuted for leveraging his position on the House Oversight Committee to base an impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Russian misinformation. Comer is shielded by the fact that his actions and statements are being made as a member of Congress. Unless there is proof that Comer is acting as an agent of Russia or committing a crime, there is nothing that can be done about this misuse of power.
Chairman Comer is under the impression that he is using Russian misinformation to criticize President Biden, but in reality, he is inadvertently aiding Putin’s assault on the United States in the Russian leader’s efforts to undermine democracy globally.
There is no law against any American promoting Russian propaganda. James Comer now realizes that his inquiry is grounded in Russian misinformation, and he seems unconcerned about the harm he is causing to his own country because his main focus is reinstating Donald Trump in the White House.
The entire Republican Party has embraced Trump’s 2016 strategy of utilizing Russian misinformation to gain or retain power.
As Rep. Raskin pointed out, Comer and his inquiry are effectively tools for Russian misinformation.
