Rep. Peter King, chairman of he House homeland security committee, defended his controversial hearing on Muslim radicalization Thursday.
King, a New York Republican, told House colleagues that backing down “would be a
craven surrender to political correctness and an abdication of what I
believe to be the main responsibility of this committee– to protect
America from a terrorist attack.”
King, who arrived at 8:45 am did not take questions from the media,
which filled the galley as the House members prepared to hold the hearing.
Opponents have protested the hearings this past week, comparing
King’s hearing to Joe McCarthy’s anti-Communist witch hunts. King said in his opening statement that
he would not be deterred and those testifying are family members of
radicalized Muslims.
“Despite what passes for conventional wisdom in certain circles, there is nothing radical or un-American in holding these hearings,” Kind said. “Indeed, Congressional investigation of Muslim American radicalization is the logical response to the repeated and urgent warnings which the Obama Administration has been making in recent months.”
