Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) stated President Trump and his administration are attempting to persuade the general public “that the sky is green” within the aftermath of the Sign group chat scandal.
Castro joined MSNBC’s Symone Sanders on Wednesday after Democrats on the Intelligence Committee pressed administration officers over the discharge of Houthi assault plans.
“They’re trying to convince us that the sky is green,” Castro stated. “This is a common playground from Donald Trump and the people underneath him, which is to deny everything, never admit that they’re wrong, never apologize.”
In the course of the Wednesday listening to, Castro notably known as out Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe for mendacity after it was revealed by The Atlantic that they have been a part of a gaggle that despatched delicate info by way of Sign.
Gabbard and Ratcliffe beforehand testified that no labeled info was exchanged, however The Atlantic later revealed screenshots that confirmed Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth outlining the weapons, time and site for the assault.
“This was gross incompetence and gross negligence that endangered our military members and endangers our allies as well,” Castro stated.
The Texas Democrat famous that he’s sat on the Intelligence Committee for 9 years and has usually obtained info much less delicate that has been labeled.
“So, for the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA Director and others to sit there and say that this is unclassified is absurd and it’s an insult,” he stated. “it’s an insult to the American people.”
Castro stated the Republican officers who testified and high Trump allies which have pushed again on the criticism are “trying to convince people that the world is upside down.” He known as for an investigation into the incident as it will look into what occurred previous to the listening to.
Castro famous that he was stunned that only a handful of Republican lawmakers are stepping as much as name out the error, arguing the GOP is “so controlled” by President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has the ability to fund their primaries.
He pointed to Democratic scandals prior to now, together with former Protection Secretary Llyod Austin’s medical absence and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s personal electronic mail use.
“This is the kind of thing that if a Democratic administration did this, they’d be on Fox News every single one of them, 24 hours straight,” Castro stated.
