Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Latest in Battle for CA-22: Is Nunes Feeling the Janz Heat?
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
February 13, 2018

Share


Opinion
Bill McEwen
Is Andrew Janz getting inside Devin Nunes’ head?
I ask because Nunes’ reelection campaign is acting like it’s feeling the heat — even though Nunes has nearly $4 million to spend on his bid for a ninth term in Congress and a long history of landslide victories in a district drawn up as a safe Republican seat.
Over the weekend, Politico’s David Siders reported that the Nunes campaign had created an alternative digital news site to counter mainstream media portrayals of the congressman. You can read the story at this link.


Then an interesting thing happened Sunday morning. Anyone typing “carepublican.com” into their internet browser was redirected to a Facebook page and the following announcement:

The website/Facebook page is vintage Nunes, a continuation of one of his tried and true conspiracy theories: The “mainstream” media ignores all of the real stories (in Nunes’ view) and peddles nothing but “fake news.” Thus, I can imagine Nunes saying that his campaign had no choice but to create a website featuring stories that portray him, other Republicans and their talking points in a flattering light.
The difference between Janz and previous Democratic challengers to Nunes is that Janz is being taken seriously. He is attracting attention in Fresno, Clovis and Tulare County, and being interviewed by national news organizations.
In addition, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office prosecutor is prosecuting the case against reelecting Nunes. Perhaps the congressman thought that 2018 would be another cakewalk?
Politico asked Janz what he thought about the Nunes “news site.” His answer: “He’s got fake memos, fake websites and fake news. It’s disappointing to see a member of Congress, especially one who chairs an important committee, spread misinformation to his constituents, who he knows will just eat it up.”

Nunes, Just Like Trump, Demands Loyalty

Just like President Donald Trump, Nunes demands that everyone in his orbit subscribe to his worldview. For example, when Siders asked Anthony Ratekin, chief of staff for Nunes, to comment on the website for the original story, Ratekin answered, “Until Politico retracts its multitude of fake stories on Congressman Nunes, we will not go on the record.”
Such a response is a home run for Nunes’ supporters and Nunes’ fellow conspiracy theory buffs, but it’s unlikely to win over independent voters in District 22 — some of whom might be paying attention to a Nunes’ opponent for the first time in their lives.

Nunes Loves One Mainstream Media Site: Fox News

The record shows, however, that Nunes gladly goes on record as often as possible with Republican-friendly Fox News.
Nunes told host Maria Bartiromo Sunday morning that Republicans are not blocking a response to his memo that was written by the House Intelligence Committee’s Democratic members led by Rep. Adam Schiff of Los Angeles.
That memo was sent to the White House last week. President Trump initially said he would release the so-called “Schiff memo” but then backtracked and said that he wouldn’t declassify it unless the Democrats reworked its sensitive and classified passages.
“Well first off, this was not a surprise,” Nunes said. “So this was — after they had accused the Republicans of putting sources and methods into our memo, we actually did not, we just put in what we thought the American people needed to know.”
“It was clear from the development of the Democratic memo from the very beginning that they packed it full of sources and methods. Now for the viewers out there, what are sources and methods? We don’t want to give up the way that our intelligence committee recruits sources, the methods that they may use to recruit sources, so these are things that don’t need to be made public. However, the Democrats knew this, they packed their memo full of sources and methods.”
Nunes also told Bartiromo that he would like to see a properly redacted version of the Democrats’ memo released to the public.
You can read a transcript of the Fox interview at this link.
You can also watch the video below:

Janz Says Trump Is Covering Up for Nunes

Meanwhile, Janz said in a Saturday appearance on MSNBC that Nunes has “politicized” the House Intelligence Committee and that Nunes is ignoring constituent needs.
(Janz did the interview from the GV Wire office because his campaign was unable to arrange a link-up with KSEE, the local NBC affiliate. We are billing his campaign for the service. Our office is available to all other candidates needing to hook up for national television interviews, too.)
Answering questions from MSNBC host Alex Witt, Janz said that he is the first “viable” Democratic candidate to challenge the Tulare Republican, who first won election to Congress in 2002.
Janz additionally took aim at the relationship between Nunes and Trump.
Janz said that the Trump administration is “doing everything they can to cover up” for Nunes, who has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for publicly releasing a memo that alleges the FBI abused its surveillance powers. Nunes released the memo over the objections of the FBI and Department of Justice.
You can view portions of the Janz interview in the video space above this column.

Other Nunes Links

Newsweek’s Jeff Stein says that Nunes’ friendship with Gen. Michael Flynn fanned the House Intelligence Committee chairman’s penchant for conspiracy theories. Read Stein’s opinion piece at this link.
Gregory J. Wallance, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, writes in an opinion piece for The Hill: “The Democrats don’t need classified information to impeach the Nunes memo. The Nunes memo is the best evidence that the DOJ didn’t mislead the FISA court, but rather, that the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have tried to mislead the American people.”
Peter Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran, writes in an opinion piece for The American Conservative that the Nunes memo matters — but not for the reason you think.

DON'T MISS

Former Fresno Businessman Todd Mumma Sentenced to 21 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

DON'T MISS

A Kamala Harris Quiz for Election Day

DON'T MISS

A Donald Trump Quiz for Election Day

DON'T MISS

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

DON'T MISS

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

DON'T MISS

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

DON'T MISS

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

DON'T MISS

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

DON'T MISS

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

UP NEXT

A Kamala Harris Quiz for Election Day

UP NEXT

A Donald Trump Quiz for Election Day

UP NEXT

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

UP NEXT

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

UP NEXT

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

UP NEXT

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

UP NEXT

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

UP NEXT

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

UP NEXT

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

15 hours ago

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

16 hours ago

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

16 hours ago

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

18 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

18 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

18 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

18 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

19 hours ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

19 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

19 hours ago

Former Fresno Businessman Todd Mumma Sentenced to 21 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

Former Fresno business owner Todd Eric Mumma has been sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor, followed b...

6 seconds ago

Booking photo of Todd Eric Mumma
7 seconds ago

Former Fresno Businessman Todd Mumma Sentenced to 21 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

4 hours ago

A Kamala Harris Quiz for Election Day

trump
4 hours ago

A Donald Trump Quiz for Election Day

A driver suspected of DUI crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol car at a fatal crash scene in Fresno County, sustaining minor injuries and later being cited. (Fresno County SO)
15 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

fresno
16 hours ago

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

16 hours ago

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP/Ashley Landis)
18 hours ago

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

Voters cast their ballots at Desert Breeze Community Center in Las Vegas during the last day of in-person early voting in Nevada on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself. (Bridget Bennett/The New York Times)
18 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

Search

Send this to a friend