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Devin Nunes, the California Republican who helped undermine Trump’s impeachment process and the Russia investigation by spreading unsubstantiated plots, was honored for his actions by the president on Monday with the country’s highest civilian honor.
President Donald Trump has announced that he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the congressman, thanking him for his work in exposing what Trump called the “Russia hoax.”
“Congressman Devin Nunes is a public servant of unparalleled talent, unassailable integrity and unwavering determination, “Trump said in a statement.” He discovered the biggest scandal in American history. “
A White House spokesman told media Monday afternoon that the ceremony took place – apparently in private – earlier today.
Trump is also expected to present the award shortly to Jim Jordan, the Ohio congressman who has also been a close ally and who has been accused of turning a blind eye to sexual assault at Ohio State University while he was leading the fight there – an accusation he denies.
The decision to honor Nunes and Jordan with an award previously presented to figures such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Neil Armstrong and Sandra Day O’Connor is part of a pattern of Trump behavior rewarding his allies with presidential honors or pardons. during his last weeks in power.
Nunes, who has represented California’s 22nd District since 2003, used his leadership of the House Intelligence Committee until 2019 to inject partisan intrigue into the investigation into Russia’s ties to the 2016 Trump campaign, blocking thus the investigation of this committee. Senate Republicans even criticized their House counterparts for a “very partisan” investigation.
In 2018, Nunes was also a leading figure in his attempt to publish a confidential memo he wrote detailing how senior Justice Department officials approved the oversight of Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page. without fully explaining to a Foreign Intelligence Review Court judge that their intelligence rested in part on the Christoper Steele case.
For weeks, Nunes ran a right-wing media campaign to tease the contents of the memo, but it failed to live up to the hype.
Democrats said Nunes’ decision to release his memo was intended solely to discredit the DOJ and the FBI, as well as undermine public confidence in the investigation of former special counsel Robert Mueller.
Asset called later Nunes “a true American patriot such as we rarely see in our modern world.”
In his Monday announcement, Trump praised Nunes for helping “thwart a plot to overthrow a sitting US president.”
During Trump’s 2019 impeachment for his dealings with Ukraine, Nunes worked to feed the conservative media machine by plating witnesses with seemingly bizarre questions from conspiracy theories which were then cut into viral videos casting doubt. on the procedure.
The impeachment inquiry also revealed that Nunes communicated extensively with Rudy Giuliani and his partner Lev Parnas prior to the proceedings.
“I find it deeply worrying that at a time when the President of the United States was using the power of his office to unearth a political rival,” Democratic House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said in December, “that he may there was evidence that there were members of Congress complicit in this activity. “
At one point, Nunes appeared more concerned with the leak of Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian leader, rather than the contents of the call which showed Trump was pressuring his counterpart to dig up Joe Biden.
Nunes has also made headlines in recent years for his failed attempts to sue two parody Twitter accounts – one claiming to be his mother, the other posing as a cow – who made fun of him.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is generally awarded to persons – living or deceased – who have made “particularly meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other activities. major public or private companies.
Presidents award the medal at their own discretion, regularly honoring prominent cultural or historical figures.
During his presidency, Trump awarded the medal to Republican donor Miriam Adelson and right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, among others. He also awarded it posthumously to Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth and Antonin Scalia.
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