In a dramatic turn of events at the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing, House Democrats’ bid to censor Robert Kennedy Jr., a Democratic Party candidate for president, was thwarted by the GOP majority.
During the hearing, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) took the floor, urging the committee to shift the proceedings to an executive session due to what she referred to as “repeatedly made despicable anti-Semitic and anti-Asian comments” made by Kennedy. Citing a House rule against testimony that could potentially defame or incriminate any individual, Wasserman Schultz sought to remove Kennedy from the open hearing. Among the remarks cited were recent comments made by Kennedy regarding COVID-19, where he suggested that the virus might be ethnically targeted.
According to reports, Kennedy’s statements included claims that COVID-19 disproportionately affects certain races, targeting Caucasians and Black individuals while being less harmful to Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
The Republicans present at the hearing, led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), countered the move, questioning the legitimacy of censoring viewpoints merely because they might differ from the committee’s stance. The GOP majority ultimately succeeded in tabling the motion to censor Kennedy by a vote of 10-8, allowing the hearing to continue as planned.
Kennedy, who has garnered significant support in the 2024 Democratic Party primary polling with approximately 19% backing, defended himself in his opening statement. He categorically denied ever uttering racist or anti-Semitic phrases and presented a letter signed by 102 Democrats, including Rep. Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), both of whom are Jewish members of Congress. The letter, interestingly enough, called on Republicans to disinvite Kennedy from the hearing.
In response to the Democrats’ attempt to censor him, Kennedy accused them of trying to silence differing viewpoints, which directly contradicted the purpose of the hearing on censorship. He characterized their actions as an “attempt to censor a censorship hearing,” emphasizing the seriousness of the issue at hand.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gives his opening statement on Censorship before the select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. pic.twitter.com/xpp2QZ6Tt4
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) July 20, 2023
The hearing, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), aimed to investigate the federal government’s role in censoring Americans, particularly in light of the ongoing Missouri v. Biden case and allegations of collusion between Big Tech companies and government agencies to suppress free speech.
Among the other witnesses present at the hearing were Emma-Jo Morris, Politics Editor at Breitbart News, and D. John Sauer, a special assistant attorney general at the Louisiana Department of Justice.
BREAKING: Journalist Emma-Jo Morris (@EmmaJoNYC), who broke the Hunter Biden laptop story for @NYPost but was immediately censored by the state on social media in an attempt to influence the 2020 election, just delivered a mind-boggling testimony on the extent of censorship in… pic.twitter.com/FSBuQ5tfwW
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 20, 2023
