Maryland Democratic Senator Jamie Raskin shared a video from the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in which Ohio Republican Representative Jim Jordan admitted the House GOP's "Weaponization" Committee is about ensuring former President Donald Trump wins in 2024.
Raskin observed the newly created Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government was the result of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's "drawn-out corrupt bargain with extreme MAGA forces" with that singular objective.
Indeed, Jordan can be heard espousing the importance of investigating Republican grievances on the "hope" "President Trump is going to run again and we need to make sure that he wins."
You can hear what Jordan said in the video below.
\u201cThe misbegotten \u201cWeaponization\u201d subcommittee, born out of Kevin McCarthy\u2019s drawn-out corrupt bargain with extreme MAGA forces, has one political objective that Jim Jordan identified in August at CPAC: returning Donald Trump to the White House in 2024. Check it out.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
The subcommittee is a new branch of the House Judiciary Committee, which is currently chaired by Jordan.
At its first hearing, the subcommittee aired grievances from as far back as the 2016 news cycle—former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard complained she'd been "smeared" by Hillary Clinton—in addition to rehashing conservative fears of censorship against the far-right on social media, the impacts of "partisan media" and even COVID-19 restrictions.
What the New York Timesdescribed as "the marquee committee of the new Republican majority" produced little to no evidence of government misconduct or targeting of Trump and other far-right figures.
The Times reported Jordan "promised new findings in the weeks ahead" and even went so far as to subpoena the Department of Justice (DoJ) for documents related to an investigation into whether the government mistreated parents who were scrutinized for making threats against school officials over mask mandates and efforts to teach children about racial inequality.
That harnessing of conservative culture war issues was part of a grander plan to potentially get Trump back into office came as no surprise to anyone.
Many criticized Jordan and his fellow Republicans as a result.
\u201c@jamie_raskin They\u2019ve replaced duty to country with the conservative crusade.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
\u201c@jamie_raskin GOP = Massively corrupt.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
\u201c@jamie_raskin Do not let him live this down. Keep bringing his words here into the record. Every meeting. Every time he mutters the word weaponization. Every time he mentions Hunter's name. Every day until this over.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
\u201c@jamie_raskin I'm pretty sure a lot of us feel we won't survive another 4 years of this.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
\u201c@jamie_raskin @suzn61 He\u2019s still hoping for a pardon.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
\u201c@jamie_raskin Appreciate the reminder. It\u2019s all performative. It\u2019s all MAGA political theatre. It\u2019s all political destructive.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
\u201c@jamie_raskin His MAGA political motivations are behind everything he does and says. Serving the country with dignity and statesmanship is a concept that is entirely foreign to him.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
\u201c@jamie_raskin @pattirod55 When criminals are in power, they're willing to do everything to put those in power that will keep then from being held accountable.\u201d— Jamie Raskin (@Jamie Raskin) 1676301359
Although Trump announced a presidential run shortly after November's midterm elections, his campaign is rather inactive given his failure to court many members of the Republican Party who turned away from him after the midterms did not result in the "red wave" GOP legislators and pollsters predicted.
Trump is also mired in legal troubles and faces mounting scrutiny over his misuse of classified documents as well as his actions on January 6, 2021—the day a mob of his supporters attacked the nation's seat of government on the false premise the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Compounding this, the House Ways and Means Committee released his tax returns in the last days of the Democratic-led Congress.
The House Select Committee tasked with investigating January 6 released its final report as well, which held Trump responsible for the attack to subvert the 2020 election results and backed criminal charges against him.
