Here's a good way to start the day: Watching Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) tell a Fox News host that she's a liar, Trump is a liar, and DHS are liars. The only thing that could possibly be better is watching Trish Regan snark and snuffle after he does it.
"Do you agree with what the administration is saying, there are about 500 felons among this group?" Regan asked.
Himes was quick to reply. "They're lying about it. They're just flat out lying about the national security threat associated with the caravan," he said.
That was all it took for Regan to take off to the races, snarky facial expressions and interruptions galore. If she could have put her hands on her hips and scolded him, she would have. There was back and forth, where she asked that same question again, thinking she'd give him the chance to change his answer, I suppose.
REGAN: (crosstalk) What he said, Representative, is that we have paid informants there in the caravans themselves. I mean our intelligence has done some gathering and we have paid people and that's been a big dispute. Many Democrats don't like the idea that taxpayer dollars are going to actually pay people that become effectively CIA informants, but that is what we have there, and so that's what it's coming from.
HIMES: Trish, everything you have just said is not... look Trish, part of my job is overseeing the intelligence community and everything you just said is not true. Democrats, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. The way we solve this problem and no we don't have CIA agents running around inside the caravan. The way we solve this issue is by working with countries like El Salvador and Honduras.
Raise your hand if you know where she's going to go with the whole idea of working with El Salvador and Honduras. Yep, she goes there. We certainly cannot be spending money there!
Here's the whole transcript courtesy of Heather, but this is a segment worth watching because he so thoroughly and firmly destroys all of the talking points, all of the snark and exposes the lies.
REGAN: Do you agree with what the administration is saying, there are about 500 felons among this group?
HIMES: They're lying about. They're just flat out lying about the national security threat associated with the caravan.
REGAN: Okay, so Department of Homeland Security is lying by telling us that there are 500 known felons.
HIMES: The Department of Homeland Security does not know who is in that caravan. The president of course outright lied when he said there are Middle Easterners in that caravan and my colleague, by saying that terrorists are sneaking across the boarder is also not being honest.
Now look I'm not saying that a secure border is not important. A secure border is important but you solve a problem by understanding it and to get back to my previous point – (crosstalk)
REGAN: I just want to fully understand because you're making pretty strong accusations there saying the Department of Homeland Security and the president of the United States all seem to be in cahoots and want to convince the American people that these are bad people, and that is just in your view frankly, a lie. So who is in that group?
HIMES: No, no, it's not in my view, right? So the president says that there are scary Middle Easterners and his government says actually ---
REGAN: Do you dispute the intelligence community's gatherings here that has said there are 500 felons, and other bad actors?
HIMES: So I as a member of the Intelligence Committee oversee the intelligence community, and no, it is not true that the government knows that there are 500 felons in that caravan. So what is happening here, Trish, and you and I both know this... and by the way, I'm not saying border security ---
REGAN: So who is in the caravan? Describe to me whose in the caravan?
HIMES: You know, Trish I can't do that, because I have not actually gone and talked to who is in the caravan and neither has the Department of Homeland Security and the notion that the president is not lying, let's just say it. Let's just say it. When he says there are (crosstalk) he's lying.
REGAN: (crosstalk) What he said, Representative, is that we have paid informants there in the caravans themselves. I mean our intelligence has done some gathering and we have paid people and that's been a big dispute. Many Democrats don't like the idea that taxpayer dollars are going to actually pay people that become effectively CIA informants, but that is what we have there, and so that's what it's coming from.
HIMES: Trish, everything you have just said is not... look Trish, part of my job is overseeing the intelligence community and everything you just said is not true. Democrats, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. The way we solve this problem and no we don't have CIA agents running around inside the caravan. The way we solve this issue is by working with countries like El Salvador and Honduras
REGAN: So you don't have any information, no intelligence gathering about whose actually in the group? That seems kind of irresponsible.
HIMES: Not much. Not enough to be able to say with any certainty that there are 500 felons in that group, which nobody is saying. So my point is, if we can get back to what really matters ---
REGAN: Nobody is saying that. The Department of Homeland Security is saying that but let's move on from that, because you're saying everybody is just great that wants to come here so what's your answer, open up the borders?
HIMES: Trish did I say that everybody is just great, who wants to come here because now you're lying?
REGAN: Congressman, who is in the group? Who's in it? You said there's no 500 felons so everybody --
HIMES: Trish I do not know who who is in the group. The president does not know who is in the group. The real conversation here is about ---
REGAN: Don't you think you ought to know? Don't you think you should know?
HIMES: the real conversation is who , I think we should stop these caravans from originating in countries like El Salvador and Honduras. Don't you think that's probably the solution?
REGAN: I think that's a great idea. I'd like to see places like El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, do their part especially since we give them so much in financial aid.
HIMES: Exactly, so the way to solve this problem is not to scare Americans there's Middle Easterners or criminals or felons. The way to stop this problem of course is to work with El Salvador and Honduras to try to reduce the violence and the gang violence and that would stop people from fleeing.
REGAN: Yeah, so you want to spend more money in Honduras and Guatemala and help them to prop up their economies. I get it. I see where it's going, right?
HIMES: This is what we do right? We help other countries, partly because we're a good country but we help other countries because we don't want their people coming ---
REGAN: We're up to a commercial, but I don't want you going anywhere because I've got much more to talk to you about so Congressman Himes, see you on the other side of this break.
