Rachel Maddow Takes On Pete Hoekstra's 'Epic Grandstanding'

On last night's edition of the Rachel Maddow Show, the host dug into the curious case of Representative Pete Hoekstra, who's been courting cameras lately in the wake of the Fort Hood massacre, telling tales out of school. Chief among them are his account of the email habits of alleged Fort Hood murderer Nidal Hasan to a Yemen-based "radical cleric." Maddow asks the obvious question:

MADDOW: Why is it Pete Hoekstra who's taking it upon himself to tell the press that this radical cleric is having his email read by U.S. intelligence agencies? The FBI had not said publicly that this cleric had been emailing Hasan. The CIA, the NSA, the White House... nobody else had reported this cleric was e-mailing Hasan. This is just Pete Hoekstra letting us know -- and letting the radical cleric that is under surveillance know -- that he's under surveillance.

The Rachel Maddow Show attempted to find out why this was happening, and got the run-around from Hoekstra's office, and bad guesswork from the Republican side of the House Intelligence Committee. What they did find out is that Hoekstra "complained all weekend" that he was not being briefed on Fort Hood to his liking, then missed the briefing that was held because he left town of his own accord.

So, what's up with Hoekstra? The Nation's Christopher Hayes bottom-lined it thusly: "His reputation is of an epic grand-stander."

HAYES: There's been a lot of reporting on this over the years. Various intelligence issues that have come before the committee. This is a guy who, in 2006, called a press conference to great fanfare to announce the weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. This is the same person who has accused the CIA of lying to him many times and turned around when Nancy Pelosi said the CIA hadn't told the truth about torture and interrogation techniques, said it was obviously absurd the CIA lied would ever lie to Congress. And now, he's turning around and saying the executive was withholding information. So, this is what he does, from his perch on the Intelligence Committee.

If you recall, Hoekstra is also the the guy who breached the security of a Congressional delegation's trip to Iraq by broadcasting its whereabouts and itinerary on Twitter. At the time, Congressional Quarterly remarked, "Nobody expected, though, that a lawmaker with such an extensive national security background would be the first to break the silence. And in such a big way." People should recalibrate their expectations!

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Comments

[johnmorgan]

12:38 AM on 11/14/2009

Love that Rachel Maddow!

Love the way she infuriates the right-wing nutjobs.

[expired]

02:31 PM on 11/12/2009

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[pbkritek]

02:24 PM on 11/12/2009

Once more Rachel Maddow provides a lesson to her less enterprising elders in the MSM on what responsible investigative reporting looks like.

[beachrose]

01:49 AM on 11/13/2009

Rachel's expertise in "investigative reporting" is usually much ado about nothing. Nothing of importance unless your're trying to manipulate a few facts, or lack thereof, into something that - will maybe plant a few seeds here and there and hopefully will GROW. An interesting tactic she uses to create a controversy or scandal where NONE really exists - and you believe it because you want to.

[johnmorgan]

12:20 AM on 11/14/2009

You believe it because she uses FACTS.

[Bozwellian]

01:59 PM on 11/14/2009

....am taking the comment as a bit of sessembling on your part to skew the "take" on what RM does indeed accomplish using FACTS to discredit the bltherings that attempt to manipulate and skew facts with a partisan fervor that identifies those doing as FAR from true patriots who put the country first and but those with a partisan bent with their noses out of joint as they get further exposed for the frauds that they are repeatedly and repeatedly denied by their core groupies who have a difficult time handling truthmaticals and prefer delusional spinnings perped by the group that lost the reins of power ...Just can't get over it that they lost and the reins are now more ably plaed in other hands , many of which are proving to be more than JUST capable but true wonkers of the best interests of this nation and its citizenry !!!

[HLL]

11:28 AM on 11/12/2009

Rachel would accompany Daniel into the lion's den. You go, girl.

[Greg Petty]

12:15 PM on 11/12/2009

see comments

[liberalNmoderation]

11:22 AM on 11/12/2009

Seems to me that hoekstra has committed several acts of treason....

[aj88]

09:37 AM on 11/12/2009

Sorry Rachel, www.jihadwatch.org and creepingsharia.wordpress.com had the e-mails on their websites within hours of the Fort Hood massacre.

[beckpod1]

08:05 AM on 11/12/2009

I'm sure Joe LIEberman told Pete to leak this....

[1differentdrummer]

06:01 AM on 11/12/2009

Peter's defense is that he is just plain dumb and so are the people from his district who elected him. Here's a man who needs to be censured.

[mamacat]

05:27 AM on 11/12/2009

Saw Rachel's show, and it was a wonderful bit of reporting.
This guy's fellow Republicans should be all over him, putting him to shame. Despicable behaviour by an elected official.

[lobear00]

02:09 AM on 11/12/2009

It should be made clear to the select few that get briefed by the intelligence agencies, that a record is kept with the agency on who attended, what was discussed, all present confirm same. That anyone leaks the intel will be charged at once with "Treason", no if's and's or but's.

The Intelligence agency's should never be misused by any administration as was done with the last one for the last eight years.

[beachrose]

01:32 AM on 11/13/2009

Didn't the White House (under Obama) de-classify & release "classified information" against the CIA's advice - that it would jeopardize the safety of our soldiers - and they did it anyway ?

[GeoLee]

12:05 AM on 11/12/2009

Tonight's scorching was even better . Go Rachel...this guy just gave out the kind of secret up that made Osama bin Laden's x cell phone trail to go silent.

[Sanity2U]

11:29 PM on 11/11/2009

I can remember when real reporters used to like inside sources speaking out.

[kmich718]

08:55 AM on 11/12/2009

Yeah, yeah. Espeically when the inside source would then put the three year survelience program in jeopardy or downright shutting it down altogether! And as the kicker, the inside source isn't inside at all, it's a Congressman on the Intelligence Committee.

Oh, puhleeze.... the weakest argument award!

[demrepub]

11:27 PM on 11/11/2009

Poll?

[opprobrious]

10:55 PM on 11/11/2009

Kudos to Ms. Maddow. I've always thought this grandstanding mouthpiece's connection with intelligence rather oxymoronic.

[kobrock1]

01:20 AM on 11/12/2009

No more so than the phrase ; "liberals' concern for national security security;" provided that the country whose security being referenced is The United States. Obviously, it makes perfect sense if the referenced country were Cuba, China, North Korea, Iran, or Venezuela, to name a few.

[johnmorgan]

12:23 AM on 11/14/2009

You've drunk the kool-aid. Go back to Faux News and see what Limbaugh tells you to believe tonight.

[One more Thing]

10:46 PM on 11/11/2009

Sounds like the type of man who cheats on his wife and rushes home to tell her!