Cathy McMorris Rodgers says Trump deserves day in court, lauds accomplishments of House GOP in Wednesday town hall

SPOKANE — U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said Wednesday that Donald Trump deserves a fair hearing in court after the former president’s latest federal indictment on charges related to efforts to halt certification of the 2020 presidential election.

“It was un-American, what happened that day,” McMorris Rodgers said, addressing an audience of roughly 40 at her annual town hall held at the Spokane Convention Center. “But I also believe that Donald Trump, or any American, deserves due process.”

The congresswoman said she was concerned about “the appearance of, I would call it, the politicizing of the federal agencies,” including the Justice Department and FBI that investigated and prepared the indictment for review by a grand jury, resulting in Tuesday’s 45-page indictment. It’s the second set of federal charges the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination now faces.

But after an hourlong town hall in which McMorris Rodgers took questions about energy policy, data privacy, immigration and health care, she stopped short of saying that appearance of politicization actually demonstrated bias by the Biden administration.

“That’s where the investigation is taking place,” McMorris Rodgers said in an interview after the town hall, referring to a subcommittee established by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tasked with examining what the House majority has called “the weaponization of the federal government.”

“They are doing an investigation around the politicization, abuse of power for political purposes by the FBI and Department of Justice,” she said.

Mary Beth McGinley, a Spokane voter who identified herself as a Democrat, asked the question of McMorris Rodgers about the latest indictment, and also whether the congresswoman had concerns that Trump’s presence in the party might be turning off voters from the GOP.

“The Republican Party is bigger than any one person,” McMorris Rodgers said.

McGinley said she didn’t believe the congresswoman addressed the implications of Trump remaining a viable choice for the party.

“I appreciated she said that he deserves due process, but how can he continue to be pursued as a candidate? To me, she didn’t answer that,” McGinley said.

McMorris Rodgers touted the work of House Republicans, including many bills that have passed through the Committee on Energy and Commerce she’s chaired since the beginning of the year. She took particular aim during the town hall at TikTok, the social media giant owned by a private Chinese company. Her committee brought in the company’s chief executive for a hearing in March, and McMorris Rodgers said concerns about TikTok’s collection of private data are bipartisan.

“I believe that this is ultimately a tool of the Chinese Communist Party,” McMorris Rodgers said. “It is a China-based company that is using this tool for their own purposes.”

Earl Moore, a candidate for Spokane City Council, asked the congresswoman about their investigation into the company.

“I think she explained, in a good way, that we need to understand what this company is doing,” Moore said after the town hall.

McMorris Rodgers also fielded questions on Medicare and Medicaid, government spending and Congress’ role in addressing climate change. The congresswoman pointed to the chamber’s passage in March of a sweeping energy bill that Senate Democrats have said contains too many concessions for oil companies as evidence GOP lawmakers are trying to increase American energy independence.

“I acknowledge the climate is changing,” McMorris Rodgers said. “I’m focused on what’s actually going to get results.”

The congresswoman dismissed efforts to breach the Snake River dams, which she said would reduce the amount of renewable energy available on the Washington grid, and said the supplies needed for renewable energy technology are controlled by China.

“We’re shutting down way too much energy right now,” McMorris Rodgers said.

McMorris Rodgers also defended a vote House Republicans, herself included, took to censure U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, for comments he made during a congressional investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia. Greg Presley asked the congresswoman why she voted to censure Schiff, while not taking any action against U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who has been indicted on charges of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress.

“Unfortunately, (Schiff) lied during his investigation, and it is proven that he lied,” McMorris Rodgers said. She believes Santos’ constituents should decide if he should return to Congress.

Presley said after the town hall that Schiff’s statements were based on findings from Robert Mueller, the special counsel put in charge of investigating the Russian ties, and that McMorris Rodgers didn’t address the charges against Santos.

“There is a disparity there, and she didn’t really address that,” Presley said.

The congresswoman, who is in the middle of her 10th term representing Eastern Washington in the nation’s capital, said she appreciated all the questions posed at the town hall.

“It’s always good to hear what’s on people’s minds, what the questions are,” she said. “I do believe it’s fundamental to representative government.”