So what about the far right, Don & Co.?
Dems plan grilling after mosque horror
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are planning to question Trump administration officials in the coming weeks on what they’re doing to combat white nationalism in light of mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Plans are still being finalized, but the sources told the Daily News on Monday that Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler hopes to host a hearing on the matter by early next month.
One of the sources said Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) is likely going to call in administration officials and grill them on whether they consider far-right ideologies a growing threat and, if so, what they’re doing to address it.
The committee wants to bring in Homeland Security Department and FBI brass, according to The Daily Beast, which first reported the plans.
A spokesman for Nadler declined to comment.
The tentative hearing schedule comes days after authorities in New Zealand said a white supremacist stormed into the two mosques in Christchurch and opened fire, 0killing 50 people and leaving dozens more wounded.
The suspect released a disturbing manifesto online prior to the horrendous attacks, in which he professed his hatred of immigrants and Muslims. He also praised President Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity,” although he said he was no fan of the President’s policies.
Despite the suspect’s ramblings, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after the mosque shootings that he doesn’t “really” consider white supremacy to be a growing threat.
“I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess,” Trump said.
One of the sources familiar with the judiciary panel’s plans said Trump’s post-New Zealand shooting comments made the matter more pressing, but stressed that the committee has long wanted to hold a hearing on the threat of white nationalism.
“This has been a problem in the Trump era in general, but I think the New Zealand attacks added even more urgency,” the source said.
Hate crimes in the U.S. have been on the rise since Trump took office, according to statistics from the FBI.
Three out of five of the 7,100 hate crimes reported in 2017 were motivated by ethnicity or race, the FBI stated in its annual report last year.
Trump, who often uses inflammatory language while talking about immigrants and other minorities, has long fielded accusations of fanning the flames of racism — claims he and his aides vehemently deny.
Even though he has yet to unambiguously denounce Islamophobia in light of the New Zealand shootings, Trump pointed fingers at journalists Monday.
“The Fake News Media is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand,” Trump tweeted. “They will have to work very hard to prove that one. So Ridiculous!”