There was a great deal of public interest last week in OceanGate’s Titan submersible and the implosion that claimed the lives of the five people onboard, but it was not the kind of story I usually cover. Maritime disasters are tragic, but they’re far from my wheelhouse.
But then some congressional Republicans took an unhealthy interest in the developments.
Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, for example, suggested Congress should open an investigation into whether the Biden administration withheld information about the Titan implosion to distract the public from Hunter Biden.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee was thinking along similar lines, publishing a tweet on Friday that read:
“If the U.S. Navy suspected that the Titan Submersible imploded just hours after it began its voyage, why did the Coast Guard wait until Thursday — the same day the IRS whistleblowers testified before Congress — to make their announcement to the public?”
So, a few things.
First, the IRS whistleblowers in question testified weeks ago, not Thursday.
Second, there’s no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the Navy or the Coast Guard.
And third, I’m curious if Blackburn has ever heard a far-right conspiracy theory she didn’t embrace without regard for accuracy.
In 2009, for example, a group of 11 House Republicans unveiled a “birther” bill in Congress, requiring presidential candidates to prove they’re native-born citizens. Most of the 11 GOP members are no longer in Congress, but one — Blackburn — managed to secure a promotion to statewide office. From her Senate perch, the Tennessean has touted all kinds of odd theories. Remember the one about the secret “cabals” in the FBI that don’t appear to exist? Or how about Blackburn’s insistence that the White House was deliberately trying raise gas prices, even as it worked to lower gas prices? The Republican’s Covid-related theories were especially weird: Blackburn argued that unnamed Democrats want “a permanent pandemic“ as part of a weird liberal scheme that never really made any sense, only to later tell Fox News that White House staffers were trying to “keep the pandemic going” so they could spend more money and direct more people to vote by mail. Now the Republican is connecting the Titan submersible implosion to the Hunter Biden story — because Blackburn appears to see the world through conspiratorial eyes. I made the case months ago that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer had an amazing ability to connect any story to President Joe Biden’s son. Evidently, the Kentucky congressman isn’t the only one.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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