Democrat lambastes spineless Republicans for cowering to Trump

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, shown last September.

After a barrage of GOP grandstanding during former special counsel Jack Smith’s congressional testimony, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California cut through the political theater. Offering support for Smith, he castigated Republicans as “tiny” and “small” in the face of President Donald Trump’s demands for fealty.  

“Mr. Smith, I want you to have the utmost confidence in what you did. You did everything right,” Swalwell said, then turned to the Republican lawmakers. “These guys, my Republican colleagues, are a joke. They're wrong. History will harshly judge them, so I want you to lean in today. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did everything right, sir.” 

Swalwell went on to note that Republicans members enjoyed not being under oath, saying it spared them from having to admit how much disdain they have for Trump and their current leadership—a sentiment echoed in the recent past by former Republican Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“This is all a show, and Mr. Smith, you're just the latest act that [Republicans have] brought in,” Swalwell concluded. “But they can't erase what happened on Jan. 6—because we saw it with our own eyes.”