Politics

Rep Eric Swalwell shreds gay Trump administration official Richard Grenell on Twitter

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell Photo: Screenshot/composite

Out Republican and Trump administration official Richard Grenell, who repeatedly covered up for Donald Trump and inflamed international tensions as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany and as the acting Director of National Intelligence, is expected to resign as ambassador soon. He is also expected to step down from his role as the head of intelligence after John Ratcliffe was confirmed by the Senate earlier this week.

German government officials publicly shunned Grenell and ridiculed him, but Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) Twitter battle with him shows just how little people think of him.

Related: How gay ambassador Richard Grenell helped deport a concentration camp guard

As acting Director of National Intelligence, Grenell promised to release a recording of former National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn’s phone calls with Russian officials. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian government officials during the campaign and before Trump took office but later withdrew his guilty plea.

Attorney General William Barr recently announced the Department of Justice will drop all charges against Flynn, but a federal judge has put the unusual decision on hold amidst allegations the move is politically motivated at Trump’s direction.

Grenell, who has a history of making inflammatory tweets, got into a testy back-and-forth with Swalwell last week on the social media platform. Swalwell challenged Grenell to release the recordings to prove that Barr didn’t drop charges against Flynn just to improve Trump’s chances at re-election.

During the exchange, Grenell promised to release the tapes. He still hasn’t.

With Grenell out as the head of America’s intelligence forces, Swalwell took to Twitter to castigate the controversial official with an epic slam.

“All you have to show for your work is the dirt on your boots from shoveling and burying evidence for @realDonaldTrump,” Swalwell tweeted in one portion of the exchange.

But the back-and-forth didn’t end there. The two have continued trading barbs all day with Swalwell even quipping that Grenell is “like his former boss, he’s just a tough guy on Twitter.” At one point, he told Grenell “Lay off the Trump Kool-Aid. You’ve had too much.”

Grenell was the first gay person appointed to a Cabinet-level position. Some outlets have reported that Grenell will join the Trump re-election campaign after leaving the administration, but he has denied the rumor.

As ambassador, Genell breathlessly announced a new initiative to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide and claimed it had the full support of the president. Asked about the surprising pro-LGBTQ campaign, Trump said he knew nothing about it.

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