Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:59 pm
House Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) blasted committee chair James Comer (R-KY) for letting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene display nude pictures of Hunter Biden at a hearing.
Raskin wrote to Comer:
During an Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing last week, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly displayed multiple nude photographs of Hunter Biden and other persons engaged in sex acts.
If Rep. Greene’s completely gratuitous and irrelevant display of pornographic images at our televised hearing does not violate the Congressional rules of decorum, then we have no rules of Congressional decorum. This type of display is a violation of House rules, and, as you yourself have recognized, also “counter to a credible investigation.”
Graphic unauthorized pictures of private citizens engaging in intimate sex acts were irrelevant to the putative subject of last Wednesday’s hearing which was unsubstantiated claims of improper political influence on federal charging decisions related to Hunter Biden. How did these pictures advance the stated purpose of the hearing? Surely, they did not. The pictures were entirely irrelevant. These pictures were displayed across America for purely voyeuristic, sensationalistic, and sadistic purposes. Our Committee, which was once chaired by heroes of the public interest like Henry Waxman and Elijah Cummings, is rapidly being reduced to the level of a 1970s-era dime store peep show.
Your failure to halt Rep. Greene’s display of pornographic photography during Committee proceedings undermines the integrity of this Committee and the House of Representatives. The official Oversight Committee Twitter account (@GOPoversight) further promoted Rep. Greene’s display of pornographic images by retweeting her clip.
During an interview, you had an opportunity to disavow her lewd display, but instead you further undermined the integrity of this Committee by dismissing its significance and expressing only support for her actions. Just today, when asked about a picture of Rep. Greene’s graphic posters that showed you in the background, you glibly told a Politico journalist you “wished that it had been taken from the opposite angle and gotten Glen[n] Grothman in the background instead of me.”
I would like to remind you that under House rules, as Chair of this Committee you have an obligation to enforce the rules of decorum fairly and equitably. It is incumbent upon you to make clear that Rep. Greene’s use of pornographic images at a public hearing clearly violated House rules and to ensure that we are not subject to repeated incidents or similarly unacceptable actions in future hearings. If this was acceptable for Rep. Greene, you are establishing it as acceptable for all Members.
I therefore urge you to publicly reprimand Rep. Greene by issuing a statement condemning her actions as an affront to the dignity, propriety, and decorum of the Committee. I also ask that you declare that explicit pornographic images of people engaging in sex acts like the ones displayed on Wednesday will not be allowed to be displayed in future Committee proceedings absent clear legislative relevance, prior approval from both the Majority and Minority, and written consent from any individual featured in the exhibit and that you remind all Committee Members of their responsibility to adhere to the rules of decorum and to conduct official business in a manner that is befitting of the United States House of Representatives.
Greene Won’t Be Reprimanded, But The Real Point Is About James Comer
House Democrats have a powerful argument to make to the American people that under a Republican majority, the House has shamed the country with the conduct of people like Marjorie Taylor Greene. Not only is the House not showing interest, or responding to the nation’s problems, but they are a dysfunctional disgrace to the nation.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is Trump’s eyes and ears in the House. She is not getting punished. Comer and Kevin McCarthy let Greene do this, so the problem isn’t Marjorie Taylor Greene as it is Republican leadership allowing their members to do whatever they want.
Rep. Greene is a symptom. The House Republican majority is the disease.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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