GOP ex-Congressman from Virginia’s 5th District and staunch opponent of 45th President Donald Trump, Denver Riggleman has joined Nancy Pelosi’s January 6th Select Committee, taking the position of “senior advisor,” reportedly at the behest of Never-Trump Congresswoman Liz Cheney, one of only two Congressional Republicans taking part in the investigation that Republican leadership has called a “sham.”
Riggleman’s appointment to the committee comes after he was recently spotted leaving the office of Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Though at the time, Riggleman did not say that he had been offered a job, he did confirm to the media that he would accept a position with Pelosi’s committee if an offer was made.
Announcing his place on the committee in a video posted to Twitter, Riggleman wrote in the tweet that he is honored to “serve alongside those who represent the best of America,” and vowed that “we will see this mission through.”
“I’d like to announce via video that I’ve humbly accepted the position of senior technical advisor for the January 6th Select Committee,” said Riggleman, touting his background in military intelligence and time spent working with the NSA while comparing the job to deploying with the United States military following 9/11. “I have to say, doing this might be one of the biggest things I’ve ever done in my life,” Riggleman said. “That includes deploying almost 20 years ago, right after 9/11.”
It’s time. Thank you to the committee for your confidence. It’s an honor to serve alongside those who represent the best of America. We will see this mission through. #Jan6Committee pic.twitter.com/zPzXYNu2wS
— Denver Riggleman (@RepRiggleman) August 7, 2021
Though he ran for office as a libertarian-leaning conservative, Riggleman recently bragged that during his time with the NSA, he regularly snooped on American citizens like Tucker Carlson – who he calls “idiots” – claiming in a social media post that “freedom-loving patriots have nothing to hide” from government intelligence agencies.
Despite receiving President Trump’s endorsement for Congress in 2020, Riggleman was bounced from office by members of his own party when he failed to secure the GOP nomination, losing out to current Rep. Bob Good, who went on to defeat far-left Democrat and former Obama Administration official Cameron Webb in the general election. Following his defeat, Riggleman took a sharp turn to the left, spending much of his remaining time in office attacking conservatives and President Trump.
Already out of office by the time of the January 6 demonstrations, Riggleman threw his support behind Democrats and members of the GOP establishment in backing the impeachment of Trump during the closing days of his administration, posting to Twitter that “impeachment is necessary” and that “allowing President Trump to walk away, validates messianic conspiracy theories and disinformation.”
My thoughts on why impeachment is necessary
GOP colleagues have stated that impeachment is divisive and could cause further violence. I disagree. Allowing President Trump to walk away, validates messianic conspiracy theories and disinformation. It could me more dangerous. Thread
— Denver Riggleman (@RepRiggleman) January 12, 2021