Republicans in Congress Are Mad We Pointed Out Jeff Sessions’ Lies

“This committee doesn’t need Mother Jones.”

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) condemned a Democratic colleague’s submission of a Mother Jones article into the record of Jeff Sessions’ appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The article, titled “3 Times Jeff Sessions Made False Statements to Congress Under Oath,” detailed the attorney general’s shifting narratives when testifying before Congress about the Trump campaign’s communications with Russian officials.

“We even had somebody offer into the record that Mother Jones basically said you lied,” Gohmert said. “And I would submit this committee doesn’t need Mother Jones to inaccurately describe or depict or tell us what happened when we can look at the conversation and see ourselves.”

Gohmert’s disparaging remarks came hours after Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Illinois) introduced the article, citing the need to remind the attorney general that he was testifying under oath.

Gohmert ended his questions by referring to a chart he brought along to help illustrate the details of Uranium One—a Hillary Clinton-linked conspiracy theory currently being pushed by President Donald Trump and other conservatives to discredit Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“We got a chart here that shows just how integral the relationship is with Mr. Rosenstein, Mr. Mueller, into this whole Uranium One thing,” Gohmert said. “It sure stinks to high heaven and it doesn’t appear to me that they should be involved in investigating.”

Editor’s Note: If you’d like to receive and support the type of reporting that Rep. Gohmert took issue with, you can subscribe to our award-winning magazine or give a gift subscription for just $10.

Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate