US Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif) says whether President Donald Trump’s interim US lawyer Ed Martin, D.C., said earlier this month that lawmakers’ comments about Elon Musk constituted a threat to civil servants. He is pushing back after revealing his office’s investigation about.
“This is totally ridiculous. [and] Garcia told Bullwalk’s Tim Miller in an interview Thursday.
The question, as Martin said, will appear on CNN on February 12th. letter “When asked how Democrats could stop Elon Musk, you spoke clearly: This is a real battle for democracy.”
He continued. “This sounds like a threat to Musk, the appointed representative of President Donald Trump, who you call “penis,” and to the government staff working for him. Their concerns led to this investigation. ”
Garcia’s comments came shortly after attending a hearing of the first House Subcommittee on Musk’s Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency, established by an executive order issued on the first day Trump took office.
In a statement to the Washington Blade, House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY) said, “Rep. Robert Garcia is a thoughtful, hardworking, law-abiding lawmaker who has made him the part of his constituents and the nation. They serve differently. House Democrats are not threatened by far-right extremists who are determined to weaponize the criminal justice system against Congress.”
Garcia serves on the strong House Oversight Committee and the Equality Caucus of Congress as one of the 11 LGBTQ co-chairs. In November he was elected to represent the Democratic Caucus leader.
“I was very supportive of a lot of people, a lot of the family members,” he said Thursday. “I said, ‘Look, we can’t forgive this single from me. It’s not really about me, right? This is silence of critics and critics in Congress.”
Later in the interview, he added, “We’re talking to the right people and, of course, people from the Democratic leadership.” . ”
U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly (Va.), a top Democrat on the Observation Committee, also issued a statement Wednesday denounced Martin’s letter.
“This is a shameful attempt to silence and restrain Congressional oversight. Martin, organizer, financier and legal representative of the January 6 rebellion, said the Justice Department will conduct a retaliation tour of the president. It is to weaponize it to do so.
“This ‘operational whirlwind’ is a smokescreen intended to divert from the true intentions of the Trump administration. It silences criticism and steals attempts to monitor law misdeeds and perversions. Rep. Garcia and our fellow overseer Democrats can guarantee that these threats will not be blocked. We will continue to fight to protect our democracy and to protect the rights of the Americans we serve. ”
Martin announced “Operation Whirlwind” on Wednesday. This is a new initiative to prosecute threats to civil servants at all levels of government, and some critics and legal experts believe it is primarily intended as a way to silence criticism.
In addition to Garcia, Martin wrote to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (NY). Two Trump’s US Supreme Court candidates, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.
“I want to tell you, Gorsack,” Schumer said, “I want to tell you, Kavanaugh – you’ll release a whirlwind and you’ll pay the price. If you proceed with these terrible decisions, I don’t know what hit you.”
Senate Democrats were speaking during a rally about the potential revocation of conservative jurists’ decades-old constitutional protections against abortion.
As the Senator’s aide detailed in his response to Martin, “On March 5th, 2020, the day after the comments referenced in your letter, Senator Schumer made the following statement from the Senator’s floor. I did.
“Now I shouldn’t have used the words I used yesterday. They didn’t come out the way I intended. My point is, with the Supreme Court newly confirmed justice, the right to choice for women. If they stripped him up, it would mean that the political outcome – political outcome – for President Trump and Senate Republicans.
“Of course I was not going to propose anything other than political and public influence on the Supreme Court. I am from Brooklyn, and we speak in a strong language.
“I should not use the words I did, but I never pose a threat. I would never do that. My leader McConnell knows that and I have to say that. Republicans who are busy manufacturing anger over comments know that too.”
The aide said, “As Senator Schumer’s statement on the Senator’s floor was confirmed, the comments were not a threat to physically injure people. I hope this clear information is helpful.”
Shortly after Trump appointed Martin, conservative lawyers and activists dismissed a pending case against a violent person who plundered the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and fired the involved prosecutors. They have launched an investigation into those who ultimately pose a charge of obstruction that was invaded by A. The US Supreme Court decision in June.
Barbara McCade, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at the University of Michigan and serves as a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, told The Washington Post that he “sees something like these letters from US lawyers.” It’s not happening,” he said. Agents leading such investigations while following the Department of Justice’s policy of not confirming or denying the existence of the investigation.
“It seems like a fair reasoning that these letters are designed to cool free speech rather than seeking clarification as they do,” McQuade added.
Garcia told Miller on Thursday that “it could have a calm impact on other people who actually come out and criticize, criticize and oppose it.”
Looking ahead, Garcia pointed out, Martin “by the way, he gave me until Tuesday to respond to this letter.” When asked what he was going to do, the lawmaker said, “We’ve had some conversations about it,” but “What we’re not trying to do is keep quiet. ”
“The lesson here is not to retreat,” he said. “The lesson here is to push it harder and let people know that they’re literally trying to limit freedom of speech.”
Garcia discussed his remarks about Musk when he appeared on CNN Thursday, saying, “What’s really important at this point is that we are allowed to speak freely so that we all understand. I think it should be. People who see the numbers of speeches, and the way we describe this fight, and who can see it as the form or the minor phor of speech.”
The lawmaker added: “It’s a battle. This is a battle for democracy.”
Trump’s Justice Department targets me for criticizing Elon Musk. Members of Congress have the right to speak freely and oppose the administration, particularly as they seek to destroy our institutions and federal agencies. We will not retreat. pic.twitter.com/y3ykpoxzye
– Rep. Robert Garcia (@Reprobertgarcia) February 20, 2025
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
