Johnson Names Alleged Insurrectionist Perry To Intelligence Committee
During Sunday's episode of CBS' Face the Nation, host Margaret Brennan spoke with House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-OH) about House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) newest committee appointments — which was met with "bipartisan uproar," according to Axios.
"I want to ask you about the Intelligence committee (IC)," Brennan said to the Ohio congressman. "You've tried to keep it nonpartisan, as you've said on this program. Speaker Johnson recently decided, as you know, to add two congressmen, Scott Perry (R-PA) and Ronny Jackson (R-TX), to your committee, reportedly at the behest of Donald Trump.
Axios notes, "Perry's phone was seized by the FBI as part of its Jan. 6 probe, while Jackson has faced allegations of drinking on duty and harassing staff when he was the White House physician."
Brennan noted, "Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) referred to Perry as a threat to oversight, saying, 'He will be on the very committee that oversees FBI while he is under direct investigation by this very agency. This, in and of itself, amounts to disqualifying conflicts of interest.'"
Turner replied, "Being concerned, obviously, about that issue, and being the chairman, to see whether or not there was an issue — in due diligence from our committee — that we needed to resolve or address — they indicated that there was not an ongoing or continuing issue, or even a current issue that we need to address."
Brennan asked, "The FBI told you that?"
Turner replied, "The IC told us that. I think what's very important here, is the speaker makes the appointment, and then what he's done since. The speaker has absolutely committed himself to these two individuals, following the rules — not only the laws. Both of them have military experience, both of them have had access to classified information before, and there's been no report of their handling or mishandling of classified information. The speaker has met with our committee — Republican members. We have had a meeting with Mr. Perry, myself and the speaker. The speaker has said this: He's going to continue to monitor the situation, if there's any indication of anything improper happening, that he will intervene. And I believe the speaker will assert leadership here."
"And withdraw...that nomination potentially?" Brennan asked, before saying "Scott Perry has come out, and took aim at you, as you know. Because he said if he gets on this committee, he'll conduct actual oversight, not blind obedience to some facets of our intelligence committee that he claimed are spying on the American people. How do you respond to that?"
The IC chair replied, "He has apologized, and certainly those are the types of words that you would not want from someone that is joining a committee that is obviously very dedicated to national security."
Watch the video below at this link.
Reprinted with permission from Alternet.