According to reports in CNN Politics and Newsweek, Newt Gingrich is on the short list for Secretary of State in Donald Trump’s administration.
Gingrich has always been a lightning rod for controversy and battles with every Washington gig he’s held. He’s farther to the right than many Republicans. It’s no surprise that he’s taking a controversial position on terrorism.
Back in June 2016, Gingrich began to advocate strongly for a revival of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. This was his response to the Orlando nightclub shooting by Omar Mateen, a Muslim. Mateen was interrogated by the FBI three times before the massacre. Gingrich told “Fox and Friends” that Americans fear reporting tips about suspected terrorists in the US because they fear being accused of discrimination. So, why not compel people to speak under oath with using a House Committe with an infamous past?
He also said this:
“We passed several laws in 1938 and 1939 to go after the Nazis. We made it illegal to help the Nazis. We are presently going to have to take similar steps here. We’re going to take much tougher positions. We’re going to ultimately declare war on Islamic supremacists, and we’re going to say, ‘If you pledge allegiance to ISIS [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria], you are a traitor and you’ve lost your citizenship.’”
The House Un-American Activities Committee began in the late 1930’s to investigate subversive political interests and anti-Semitism within the United States. Later it concerned itself much more with Communism. In the 1950’s, the committee began looking for Communists in Hollywood. Actors, producers, even stagehands were subpoenaed to appear before Congress. If they chose not to testify and “name names” of their friends, they were blacklisted from the entertainment industry, meaning that none of the studios would hire them. They also faced prison time for contempt of court if they didn’t provide information. The Committee even helped to enforce the blacklist. Hollywood ultimately lost a Supreme Court challenge to the Committee’s broad powers.
Much of the information produced by the testimony lead to a dead end. As the Cold War hysteria waned, the House Un-American Activities Committee changed its name and stopped issuing subpoenas. It folded in 1975.
Now, the man who could be our Secretary of State could revive this powerful tool of inquisition against US citizens under the guise of fighting Islamic terrorism.
