The Democratic representative of California, Eric Swalwell, said he expects to be prosecuted by the Trump Administration because of his criticism
During an interview on CNN, the progressive leader, who has been characterized as one of the Californian politicians most critical of Trump, affirmed that he refuses to shy away from exercising his right to freedom of speech.
Eric Swalwell in a file image.
California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell said Thursday that he "fully expects" to be prosecuted by the administration of President Donald Trump due to the criticism he has issued over the past few months against the Republican leader. During an interview on CNN, the progressive leader, who has been characterized as one of the Californian politicians most critical of Trump, said that he refuses to shy away from exercising his right to free speech.
Asked if he was concerned that "down the road you may be prosecuted for your criticisms of this White House," Swalwell affirmed and noted that "I’m ready for it. I fully expect it." Also, the California representative said that one of the reasons he felt convinced that this scenario could materialize is because of a book FBI Director Kash Patel wrote, in which he included him on a list of 60 people he went so far as to describe as "government gangsters" who should be investigated as soon as possible.
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At the top of the list
Delving into this point, Swalwell commented that both he and Democratic Senator from CaliforniaAdam Schiff were named "at the top" of Patel's list. "Adam Schiff is under investigation now, so, I’m ready for it. I expect it, but I’m not going to flinch. I’m not hiding under the bed. I’m not going to shrink because that’s the aim. That’s why they do this, is they hope that dissent and oversight goes away."
Similarly, the progressive representative added during his CNN interview, "And if I shrink and if Adam Schiff shrinks, then why wouldn’t everyday Americans shrink? And so, I’m not going away. And they can come at me, but it’s not going to silence me, and it’s not going to stop me from working every day to put Democrats in the majority so we can finally pump the brakes on the corruption we’re seeing in this administration."
A rough encounter in Congress
"You identified 60 individuals in that book. You put me on that list at the top of the list. Thank you. My children find it flattering. Twenty of those individuals have been investigated or have had adverse actions. Director, considering that you’ve identified these people as, quote, government gangsters, will you recuse yourself from making any investigation decisions about these individuals?" asked Swalwell, to which Patel responded, "No."
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