'I Know Alligator Tears When I See Them': Matt Gaetz Blasts Jan 6 Committee

 

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr

On the House floor, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) blasted the Select Committee on January 6.

Matt Gaetz said:

Gas prices are rising, the border has become a turnstile, inflation is crushing our fellow Americans, and here we are, back on the floor of the house reliving January 6th. Some of the members of the January 6 committee come from the swamps of Washington D.C. I come from the swamps of Florida and I know alligator tears when I see them and yet we are lectured about performing for the former president. The reason cavino and Navarro shouldn't be held in contempt is that the January 6 committee itself is, so performative illegitimate unconstitutional in kicking off the republicans that leader McCarthy sent to serve on the committee. 

You know we were accused by the majority leader of having our party hijacked our party is ascendant and time is on our side because when we take the majority back this nonsense will come to an end. It's baffling to me that Democrats are so eager to conduct oversight over the last administration that is out of power but it's here no evil see no evil speak no evil.

When it comes to the biden administration they're more worried about trump's trade advisor than joe biden's son's trading influence for foreign money. They're more worried about trump's deputy chief of staff than deputizing the right folks to secure america's border. 

The january 6 committee is a shame and if you took the position of the committee legally no president would ever have privilege that would extend beyond the life of that president presidency and so no president would have the ability to have candid conversations with staff and advisors that might not immediately come back to bite them the moment they left the oval office.

The american people see this as a partisan exercise it is, probably some folks at the justice department even see that it's a partisan exercise because not all these consent citations are well received at the justice department right now. And this contempt referral should similarly be ignored and rejected and certainly is a stain on this house i yield back gentleman.