Over the last week, Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and many in the right-wing media have been pushing the debunked conspiracy that members of the FBI are part of a "Secret Society" to take down the current administration. The issue has become so ridiculious that even some on Fox News are not buying it.
Fox News on Trump
Ever since Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in November 2016, speculation has only continued to increase in regards to what role Russia played in the hacking of the election. As expected, the former host of "The Apprentice" has denied any wrong doing, often repeating that there has been "no collusion" between himself and the Kremlin.
The latest issue surrounding the Russian investigation stems from a single text message between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who have since been linked together romantically. The text message in question was sent from Page to Strzok reading, "Are you even going to give out your calendars? Seems kind of depressing. Maybe it should just be the first meeting of the secret society." While the text has been viewed as a joke, Trump and the GOP have taken it very seriously, which was highlighted during the January 28 edition of "Fox News Sunday."
Joining Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday was House Oversight Committee Chair. Republican Trey Gowdy. The two spoke abut several issues, with Wallace eventually calling out the GOP for pushing the debunked secret society conspiracy.
"Don’t Republicans hurt their credibility on real issues of bias when they make such a big deal about secret societies and palace coup?" the host asked.
JUST IN: GOP senator admits "secret society" texts may have been a joke after linking them to anti-Trump conspiracy https://t.co/w7RevaeKeF pic.twitter.com/GD6ZIWRsKg
— The Hill (@thehill) January 25, 2018
Trey Gowdy was forced to admit that Republicans aren't doing themselves any favors by pushing the issue.
"Republicans are the best I’ve ever seen at taking good facts and overstating them and therefore changing the narrative," Gowdy said, before adding, "I have no idea what they meant by that." With the secret society conspiracy even losing steam on Fox News, only time will tell what the right-wing media will come up with next, though the president appears to stand by his recent text over the conspiracy.
Wallace smacked Gowdy over hysterical conspiracy rantings of "secret societies and palace coups" https://t.co/GiKoPLHvu3
— Raw Story (@RawStory) January 28, 2018
Moving forward
With the Russian investigation moving forward, Donald Trump and the Republicans have been increasingly on edge over what information special counsel Robert Mueller might come up. In a surprising move, Trump agreed last week that he would speak with Mueller in the future, and do so under-oath, which has since become one of the most anticipated political stories of the new year.