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Democratic Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont railed against House Republicans' conspiracy theory-fueled congressional hearings, which she said have led to threats and intimidation against witnesses.
It was a fitting speech to give at the House Judiciary Committee hearing, at which Republicans considered whether to hold Hunter Biden, the president’s son, in contempt for spurning a subpoena to testify in a closed-door hearing.
Balint said Republicans have spread conspiracy theories in dozens of previous closed-door hearings and refused to release transcripts for all but one of them. That Republicans would use closed-door hearings to spread conspiracy theories is precisely the reason Biden says he wants to testify publicly. And Balint noted that these conspiracy theories have a devastating impact on witnesses.
"Witnesses that have appeared before this committee have testified that House Republicans have spread dangerous conspiracy theories about them, and it has led to threats against their families and against them," she said.
The plight of witnesses targeted by right-wing extremists deserves more attention, as the public may underestimate those effects, given how often GOP-led hearings descend into fact-free shoutfests. But congressional witnesses have been outspoken about the harassment that has followed their testimony. Indeed, several have said their lives have been altered by conservatives angry about their testimony before the committees.
Nina Jancowicz, a disinformation expert targeted by right-wing conspiracy theories, may be among the congressional witnesses Balint was referring to. Jancowicz was pregnant when the threats and harassment came rolling in and had to hire private security.
Former Twitter whistleblower Anika Collier Navaroli published an op-ed for HuffPost in December in which she said she received death threats and bigoted attacks online after she refuted Elon Musk’s claims of anti-conservative bias at Twitter.
Kate Starbird, a disinformation researcher at the University of Washington, is another expert targeted by right-wingers, including Jim Jordan, with conspiracy theories after she and other researchers were referred to at the House Jan. 6 committee hearings. Starbird recently told The Guardian these attacks are having a chilling effect by discouraging disinformation research and the efforts to stop its spread on social platforms.
That last point speaks to the reward Republicans reap from the harassment Balint referred to, whether the targets are disinformation experts or the president’s son. Hearings are powerful — meant for public information, not witness intimidation. But if you can use them to silence or scare people with knowledge that undercuts your preferred narrative, you can fill the void with your lies.