(Original photo credit Speaker Boehner’s Flickr. Image adjustments by Code and Dagger.)
Political circles in Washington today are sure to be frenzied over newly published excerpts from former Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s memoir, but just a couple sentences may be of more interest to observers of national security: the short bit about Boehner putting a “lunatic” on the House Intelligence Committee.
The word “lunatic” first comes up when Boehner introduces then-Rep. Michele Bachmann.
“Bachmann, who had represented Minnesota's 6th Congressional District since 2007 and made a name for herself as a lunatic ever since, came to meet with me in the busy period in late 2010 after the [midterm] election,” Boehner writes, according to an excerpt adaptation published by Politico.
Bachmann wanted a spot on the House Ways and Means Committee, which Boehner describes as the most powerful committee in the House. She wasn’t going to get that appointment, Boehner said, but he was afraid that if she didn’t get something, she’d blast him publicly on conservative media. So, he came up with a politically expedient compromise.
“I suggested the House Intelligence committee to Bachmann as an alternative, and mercifully, she liked it. It would be a good perch for anyone wanting to build up their foreign policy chops for a run for president, which she was already considering— Lord help us all,” he writes.
Let’s pause a moment here to remember that the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is charged, along with its Senate counterpart, with overseeing the classified and unclassified activities of 17-agency-strong U.S. intelligence community, has access to the nation’s most closely held secrets and conducts some of the most sensitive — an often politically rife — investigations into major security-related incidents.
Luckily for Boehner, politically, Bachmann accepted the post. Luckily for America, in every other way, Bachmann turned out to be a serious, studious member of the committee, he says.
“The funny thing is, Michele Bachmann turned out to be a very focused, hardworking member […]. She showed up to the committee, did her homework, and ended up winning over her fellow members with her dedication,” he writes.
From there, Boehner just kind of moves on to his other woes with the radical side of the Republican party. Bachmann served in Congress from 2007 to 2015. She later was appointed by then-President Donald Trump to serve on an evangelical “advisory board.”
[Do you have a tip or question for Code and Dagger? Send it along at CodeAndDagger@protonmail.com. Also, consider contributing to Code and Dagger on Patreon at Patreon.com/CodeAndDagger.]