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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) got up and walked out of a House committee hearing on Tuesday after a Democratic lawmaker accused her of high-fiving and hugging Jan. 6 defendants, whom she referred to as “political prisoners.”
During Tuesday’s House Oversight Committee hearing, tensions escalated when Greene spoke for about five minutes addressing crime in Washington, D.C. She passionately urged her House colleagues to “support the police,” and characterized D.C.’s crime rate as “an absolute embarrassment to our country.”
“I’d also like to remind everyone that one of our own colleagues was carjacked months ago here in Washington, D.C.,” the congresswoman added. “We also just had a former Trump admin official [Mike Gill, formerly of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission] die because he was shot here in our nation’s capital, and many Hill staffers themselves have been attacked just walking the city streets. This is an ongoing crime epidemic here in our nation’s capital, and it’s appalling.”
Reports of high-profile figures, including Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and President Joe Biden’s granddaughter, becoming victims of the surge in crime in the capital last year have spurred some conservative lawmakers to accuse Biden and the Democratic Party of being lenient on crime. These accusations gained traction earlier this week following the death of Gill, who was fatally shot during a carjacking. His tragic demise has fueled outrage among conservatives, who argue that American cities are becoming “lawless” under the Biden administration.
She also lashed out at Democrats for outsized criticism of former President Donald Trump.
“I also heard President Trump come under attack once again because Democrats have nothing else to say to defend their own policies but attack President Trump,” she said.
Near the end of her time, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s ranking member, asked if she would answer some questions.
“No, I will not yield to one of your stupid questions that are always attacking me and attacking President Trump,” she fired back.
Next, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) spoke and slammed Greene for her embrace of law enforcement while also supporting Jan. 6 rioters.
“I want to remind the gentlelady that it was her that actually organized a trip to the D.C. jail to hug and high-five and sit with the insurrectionists that actually attacked our Capitol,” he said. “So, if we’re talking about the safety of D.C., and the Capitol, it is quite, I think, ironic.”
About halfway through his remarks, Greene walked out of the hearing.
Later, her spokesman, Nick Dyer, responded to Newsweek’s request for comment by saying in an email: “Did you see what she said before? Or do you only pay attention to left wing twitter?”
Last week, Greene filed a formal complaint with Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and the state Republican attorney general, Chris Carr, requesting that they look into allegations of political bias on the part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis regarding her romantic relationship with Nathan Hale, a special prosecutor she hired to help with her case against Trump. Greene alleged that Willis’ relationship is improper and that she may have illicitly funneled nearly $700,000 in taxpayer funds to him, which he used to pay for the two of them to take several trips.
Greene went on to assert that if the allegations are accurate, it would reveal “Fani Willis’ serious lawlessness, including potential violation of public oath,” in addition to other laws of Georgia.
Trump’s co-defendant, Michael Roman, first made the claims in a motion last month. Roman wants Willis and Wade removed from the case.
“Admittedly, this is a bold allegation considering it is directed to one of the most powerful people in the State of Georgia, the Fulton County District Attorney. Nevertheless, the district attorney’s fame and power do not change the fact that she decided to appoint as the special prosecutor a person with whom she had a personal relationship and who is now leading the day-to-day prosecution of this case,” Roman’s attorney wrote in the motion.
