Freedom Caucus member Andy Biggs: False claims against Trump are reaching the height of absurdity – Washington Examiner

The false claim that Trump conspired with Russia to engineer the 2016 election has reached the height of absurdity. The media and Democrats are trying to bamboozle the country by conflating several isolated incidents. They have no evidence but have created a story that combines the allegations about the Russians and the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Claim 1: Trump conspired with Russia to interfere with the election

The first bogus allegation by the radical media and carried forward by many Democrats is that Trump somehow participated with Russia to influence the 2016 election. The advocates of this disinformation hit this off-tune piano key early and often. But Obama-era Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified under oath that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

The FBI and two congressional committees continue to investigate the extent of Russian activities. Unlike those who keep throwing wet wood on a match and producing smoke where there is no fire, I am content to wait for the outcome of those investigations and not jump to unwarranted and unsubstantiated conclusions.

Claim 2: Trump disclosed confidential information to Russian diplomats

The media and Democrats, sensing that people are not buying their first false Russian claim, have turned to an unnamed source who cites an unseen memo to make their second false claim. They allege that Trump disclosed confidential information to high-level Russian officials. No independent evidence to date corroborates the assertions.

Unlike the Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, and other outlets using unnamed sources, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who were actually in the meeting, publicly deny the reports.

The media have buried the lede. The real problem here is that either there was a criminal leak by someone in attendance at the meeting that jeopardizes national security and stature, or the media has once again grabbed a false story in its zeal to delegitimize the Trump presidency.

Claim 3: The firing of FBI Director James Comey and his memo

The Washington Post was the first to try and get the fire started, but was joined by radical members of the media. Here is a line from a CNN piece: "Comey wrote, quoting Trump in the document, which CNN has not viewed but which was described by the sources."

Democrats keep fanning the wet wood, producing only smoke. In their effort to delegitimize Trump and encourage a never-will-happen impeachment proceeding, they claim that the as-yet-unseen Comey memo is evidence of obstruction of justice.

Oddly enough, the unobservant media failed to acknowledge that an actual witness testified under oath before the Senate. In a recent hearing, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe said, "There has been no effort to impede our investigation today." That's right the FBI testified under oath that there has been no obstruction of the investigation.

If Comey believed that his conversation with Trump constituted obstruction, he was obligated to report the offense to his superior (See 18 U.S.C. Section 4).

Democrats looked the other way when 30,000 emails were deleted from Hillary Clinton's server. They do not care that the alleged Russian interference with our election occurred under Obama's administration. The media's double standard for the Trump administration is unseemly. Simply put, the media and the Left have become unhinged over unsourced accusations.

The American people can clearly see there is an unprecedented, orchestrated effort to undermine Trump, in an attempt to subvert the will of the American people. I have never seen this level of fervor in American politics where anonymous sources dictate talks of impeachment, special counsels, investigations and obstruction of justice.

In spite of this incredible divisiveness, Trump has been productive. In the first four months of his administration, he has saved taxpayers billions of dollars by repealing government regulations, aided a rapid rise in economic growth, enforced our nation's immigration laws to help lower illegal border crossings and given us Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. He has an ambitious agenda, and I believe that he will receive more successful outcomes in the future as he works to keep his promises.

Republicans in Congress can keep our promises to the American public by maintaining focus on our agenda to repeal Obamacare, reform tax structure for every American, build the border wall and facilitate creation of jobs and economic growth by reducing additional regulations. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the White House to these ends.

Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) represents Arizona's fifth district in the U.S. Congress.

Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read ourguidelines on submissions.

See the article here:

Freedom Caucus member Andy Biggs: False claims against Trump are reaching the height of absurdity - Washington Examiner