GOP congressman accuses FBI of 'illegal coup' against Trump with zero evidence

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) promoted a nonsensical conspiracy theory Monday, in which he accused the FBI of being part of an elaborate plot as part of an attack against America.

“I have a tip,” he wrote on Twitter. “I think high level FBI agents may have colluded with British agents and Democrat operatives to initiate an illegal coup against @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. I mean at least this bears a cursory review.”

The conspiracy theorizing echoes months of Fox News and Trump defenders in Congress — as well as Trump himself — all insisting there is a “deep state” within the U.S. government dedicated to undermining his presidency.

Hours later, Gosar tried to explain his tweet with a follow-up, insisting people “are missing the sarcasm” and attaching the report from former special counsel Robert Mueller. That report of course says nothing about any deep state conspiracies or attempted coups.

Like Trump, Gosar has a history of pushing outlandish and made-up stories designed to attack his political enemies. He also supports and works with bigots while pushing prejudiced ideas.

After the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in 2017, where Heather Heyer was killed, Gosar alleged that the event had been “created by the left.” He even claimed that financier and progressive philanthropist George Soros backed the event’s organizer.

Echoing a well-worn conspiracy, Gosar claimed that Soros, who is Jewish, had “turned in his own people to the Nazis.” Soros was a 14-year-old child at the war’s end.

Previously, Gosar accused the FBI and Department of Justice of “treason,” echoing Trump’s attacks against those investigating his wrongdoing.

He also traveled to England in 2018 to express his support for Tommy Robinson, head of a British anti-Muslim hate group. At the event, Gosar slammed the “scourge” of Muslim men who have emigrated to Britain.

The trip was financed by an anti-Muslim group, Middle East Forum, who spent nearly $10,000 to transport Gosar.

That same year, Gosar defended a Republican group in his state that hosted an anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist. The speaker claimed that Muslims “want to overtake our country and make this an Islamic country.” Gosar said those opposed to the event had an “irrational fear of open discussion.”

His behavior has been so over the top that five of his nine siblings appeared in a campaign ad last year to publicly condemn him and his reelection campaign. Gosar then blamed the ad on President Barack Obama, who was nearly two years out of office by that point.

After Rep. Steve King (R-IA) had his committee positions revoked over his own racist remarks, Gosar pushed for King’s reinstatement.

Smearing the FBI and promoting pro-Trump conspiracy theories isn’t out of character for Gosar. If anything, it constitutes the bulk of what he has been doing in Congress for the last two years.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.