During an appearance on Fox, Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) downplayed the attempted coup last week by President Donald Trump‘s supporters, who at his behest sought to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
After anchor Maria Bartiromo asked Issa if an impeachment trial––which would likely not take place until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office––is worth pursuing, Issa said Democrats are “overplaying a lot of things, including the deaths of these people on Capitol Hill.”
“It’s probably similar to shutting off the Twitter of somebody after his presidency is essentially over. It’s kicking when he’s down, it’s getting rid of 88 million people who follow and listen to the president,” he said.
“There’s no question at all that the liberals saw an opportunity, a misstep by the president that they’re going to overplay, and they’re overplaying it as we speak. They’re overplaying a lot of things, including the deaths of these people on Capitol Hill,” he continued. “It was a terrible event, terrible things, people need to be punished. But they’re trying to use it to imply there’s only one side that has violence and completely ignoring all of last year and the unchecked violence from the left.”
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You can watch Issa’s interview below.
"They're overplaying a lot of things, including the deaths of these people on Capitol Hill" — Rep. Darrell Issa, who supported endless investigations into Benghazi (ht @KailiJoy) pic.twitter.com/z1adqYpN2n
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 11, 2021
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died after sustaining injuries during the violent insurrection.
Earlier this morning, House Republicans blocked a resolution by Democrats to compel Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Trump from office for inciting the violence.
Twitter officially shut down President Trump’s account last week, citing the risk of further violence. The shutdown does not constitute a First Amendment violation. The First Amendment prohibits the government from punishing individuals for exercising their right to free speech. It does not bar private companies from expelling individuals who do not abide by their terms and conditions.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
