Yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson removed Mike Turner from his position as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Johnson explained the move simply: “The intelligence community and everything related to it needs a fresh start."
Turner claims that Johnson cited "concerns from Mar-a-Lago" regarding the decision. Johnson denied Trump's involvement in a press conference.
The prior chair of the HPSCI? Adam Schiff.
Turner is not a flashy politician. Unless you live in Ohio or watch "Meet the Press" regularly, his name might be unfamiliar, and that's not a bad thing in the Beltway. After all, the most effective operatives are the ones you don't notice, and Turner has all the telltale signs of a deep stater. His grip on levers of hidden power has been substantial since 2015, when he joined the HPSCI, and especially since he was appointed its chairman one year ago.
The political life of Mike Turner began rather inconspicuously as mayor of Dayton, Ohio, where he grew the police force, balanced the city budget, and revitalized the downtown business district. After a decade in the position, he ran for and won a House seat in 2013.
Turner's career as a congressman is highlighted by various roles on military committees. In 2003, he was appointed to the Armed Services Committee. In this role, he effectively advocated for Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, creating 1,000 jobs and winning $230 million in federal funding for the base.
.@SpeakerJohnson booting Rep. Mike Turner from the chairmanship of House Intel "demonstrates a new assertiveness for Johnson, who bent to the will of Turner and other establishment forces in the last Congress on FISA and aid to Ukraine." https://t.co/g82LaTV7yY
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 16, 2025
Perhaps it was this negotiation that opened the neocon Pandora's box for Turner. One doesn't simply win hundreds of millions for one's home district without some stipulations.
If Trump was indeed involved in stripping Turner of his prized role, it was a broadside message to the intelligence community.
From his pulpit, Turner has consistently pushed several narratives: terrorists in the US are coordinating with ISIS, Ukraine needs more funding, Russia is planning a nuclear attack on the West, and FISA Section 702 is vital for national security.
All the narratives lead to the same prescription: more military-industrial spending...and spying on Americans.
FISA Section 702, according to the FBI, "is an indispensable tool in the FBI's efforts to protect against national security threats." What does FISA do? It authorizes warrantless wiretapping of American citizens.
Defense attorneys for clients accused of J6 crimes have uncovered what appear to be examples of the type of warrantless spying authorized by FISA 702.
How many #SeditionHunters were fed FISA 702 info from @FBI / @TheJusticeDept’s telecom geofence search… only to feed it back to FBI tip line as “open source sleuths?”
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) November 26, 2024
Which #SHs are FBI employees?@FBI caught abusing FISA access vs Jan 6ers; @mattgaetz provided court evidence https://t.co/KR8JNpc79c pic.twitter.com/xqfKzjf2z8
Tom Cotton is a real piece of shit senator from Arkansas who just this week voted to renew FISA warrantless surveillance, which the FBI has illegally used against J6ers tens of thousands of times.
— 🇺🇸 (@FreeStateWill) December 17, 2023
Tom also called J6ers insurrectionists on 1/6/21, and said J6ers should "face the… https://t.co/8teD7GiN5K pic.twitter.com/WCAVMHpIVu
The removal of Turner is one sign that Trump 2.0 will hit the ground running this time. Those who recall his first term will shudder at the memory of Trump's first post-inauguration visit on January 20, 2017: CIA headquarters, Langley, VA. The idea, it seemed, was to make peace with the organization that undergirds the deep state.
This time, Trump knows who is loyal. Further, he knows the intelligence he receives is potentially misleading. Indeed, in March of last year, Adam Schiff explicitly stated that the intel community would intentionally give Trump false information if he was reelected.
That's why the announcement of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), chaired by Devin Nunes, is such a critical component of the new administration.
The PIAB will act as a filter--a BS detector, if you will--for the briefings Trump receives from the 17 intel agencies. Such insight will be vitally important, especially as the administration begins to cut away unnecessary and counterproductive agencies of the state.
If any question about Turner's removal was left in the minds of those who support our Republic, consider the following quote, as reported today in the New York Times:
Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters Wednesday evening that Mr. Turner’s removal “sends a shiver down my spine.”
Later, in a statement, he said: “The removal of Chairman Turner makes our nation less secure and is a terrible portent for what’s to come. The Constitution demands that Congress function as a check and balance to the executive branch, not cater to its demands.”
One wonders if Himes and his ilk are truly afraid for America, or for themselves.
