Jamie Raskin 'Plays' Nigel Farage Under Questioning From Dan Goldman

Forbes Breaking News

At today's House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) questioned Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), standing in for UK MP Nigel Farage who had left the hearing, about threats to free speech.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Chairman, but thank you very much.

00:01Mr. Farage, you can blame it on me.

00:03One more.

00:04Oh, you're avoiding me.

00:06Mr. Farage, thank you.

00:07The chair now recognizes the gentleman from New York, Mr. Goldman.

00:11I'm sorry to see you leave, Mr. Farage.

00:12I actually had much that we agree upon and was looking forward to your testimony.

00:19Because it is very nice and refreshing to hear from my GOP colleagues that they are worried about authoritarianism.

00:28Mr. Biggs and Mr. McClintock both said that earlier.

00:33And I imagine, given what's going on in this country, when the president is sending the military into American cities,

00:39is weaponizing the Department of Justice to investigate his enemies, requiring loyalty oaths from all federal workers,

00:50at risk of otherwise being fired, the list goes on and on.

00:53It is reassuring to hear that the Republicans who have remained stone silent about Trump's authoritarian takeover of our government here

01:04are actually concerned about authoritarianism.

01:07And I found it really heartening that Mr. Van Drew said, and I quote,

01:15quote, if we lose our First Amendment rights, we lose everything.

01:21Now, in his opening statement, Mr. Farage said, quote,

01:26when the government starts regulating speech,

01:29it is rarely those that agree with the government who find themselves in court.

01:34And Mr. Farage, I'll ask you the question, is that similar to your concern about suppressing speech that disagrees with the government?

01:49Oh, Mr. Farage has left.

01:52Well, Mr. Raskin, then maybe just you can stand in for Mr. Farage for a minute here.

01:58I know you are a champion of free speech.

02:03I'm not sure it's the same free speech that Mr. Farage is supporting.

02:07But if this concern about the government regulating speech is because it is rarely those that agree with the government

02:17who find themselves in court, then you would think that Mr. Farage and all of our Republican colleagues

02:25would be very, very concerned if an administration here in the United States

02:33was investigating criminally individuals who made the colossal mistake of speaking out against the president.

02:48That would be a clear violation of Mr. Farage's principle. Is that right?

02:52He was talking about the importance of political dissent.

02:56And this is a test, Mr. Goldman, I think, of our constitutional patriotism.

03:01To what extent are we willing to speak up for people who are the targets of government repression,

03:05even if we don't agree with what they're saying?

03:07A great example of that is our colleague, Congresswoman MacGyver from New Jersey.

03:11I would hope that in a comparable circumstance,

03:15I would stand up for a Republican colleague who tries to exercise his or her oversight rights

03:20by going to a government facility on a prearranged visit

03:25and then gets caught up in the chaos and confusion outside.

03:28And they want to send her to jail for 30 years.

03:30I did stand up for our colleague from New York.

03:35I'm spacing his name, Mr. Santos, because they wanted to expel him

03:40without his having a conviction or an ethics process.

03:44And I said that wasn't fair.

03:46So I think I passed a micro test there.

03:48I would hope some of our colleagues would say,

03:50no, you know, don't prosecute our colleagues just for doing their jobs.

03:55Well, let's let's talk about that,

03:56because that is exactly what this Department of Justice is doing.

04:00Recently, we heard publicly, which would ordinarily never happen,

04:06the Department of Justice does not say publicly,

04:09they don't confirm that there are any investigations of anyone

04:12until there's an indictment,

04:14because that person or those individuals can't defend themselves.

04:19But now we know that Senator Adam Schiff,

04:21who led the first impeachment of Donald Trump,

04:23is under investigation by the Department of Justice.

04:26New York State Attorney General Letitia James,

04:29who filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and his business.

04:34She is now under investigation.

04:37Miles Taylor, who literally did only,

04:42the only thing that he did was write an op-ed and a book

04:46criticizing the President of the United States.

04:49He is under criminal investigation.

04:51Chris Krebs, whose offense, I think,

04:54was to say that the 2020 election was the most secure ever.

04:57He is under investigation.

05:00John Bolton, who has criticized the President,

05:03gets his house raided.

05:05Lisa Cook, the Fed governor,

05:07is now under investigation for mortgage fraud,

05:10I guess because she doesn't want to lower rates.

05:13The degree to which this government

05:17is suppressing speech that simply opposes the President's views

05:24should make Mr. Farage

05:26and every single one of my Republican colleagues

05:29speak out in favor of the First Amendment,

05:32and yet we have heard nothing.

05:34There is still time, my friends,

05:36and I yield back.

05:37Thank you, sir.

05:38Thank you, sir.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended