Also in 2017, he “uncovered the crime of the century” by launching an investigation into the “misconduct” of the 44th US president Barack Obama’s administration
US President Donald Trump on Monday awarded the senior Republican member of the US House Intelligence Special Committee, Devin Nunez (from California), the country’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This was stated in a distributed written statement from the White House press office.
“In 2014, Devin was elected chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. As chairman, he opposed Russian aggression and opposed the nuclear deal with Iran. Despite fierce opposition, he led efforts to declassify documents seized during the operation [to eliminate Osama] bin Laden that revealed al-Qaeda [banned in the Russian Federation]’s cooperation with Iran”, – the document claimed.
In addition, the White House pointed out, Nuñez in 2017 “uncovered the crime of the century” by launching an investigation into the “misconduct” of the 44th US President Barack Obama’s administration. The press office explained that the so-called Trump dossier, prepared by former British MI6 foreign intelligence officer Christopher Steele, “was funded by [former presidential candidate Hillary] Clinton’s campaign staff and the Democratic National Committee”. The “dossier” alleged that Russian intelligence services had personal and financial information discrediting Trump. The FBI and the US Department of Justice later told members of Congress that they were unable to authenticate the information in the “dossier”.
The congressman also revealed that the Obama administration was “spying on President Trump’s campaign staff”. “Devin Nunez’s brave actions helped foil a plot to overthrow the sitting president of the United States,” the White House said in a statement.
According to CNN, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is also due to be awarded to senior Republican law committee member Jim Jordan (from Ohio), another of Trump’s closest allies in the House of Representatives. Both influential congressmen defended and advocated for the president during Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into allegations of illicit ties to Russia (2017-2019) attributed to Trump, as well as the impeachment proceedings against the head of state.
The Medal of Freedom was established by President Harry Truman in 1945 to recognise individuals who had distinguished themselves in combat. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy changed the statute of the award to be awarded in peacetime for “outstanding contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, the world peace, cultural or other important public or private endeavours”.