MSNBC’s Steve Benen slammed Laxalt for going after law enforcement, noting Laxalt has “no idea what he’s talking about.” 

Laxalt’s anti-law enforcement agenda includes a horrific disregard for the loss of life during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Instead of responding to calls from Nevada law enforcement to condemn the attack and fire his insurrectionist senior aide, Laxalt has ignored them and fundraised off the Big Lie. Laxalt called the events of January 6 exaggerated and said most insurrectionists should not be prosecuted, as the trial for an Oath Keeper linked to Adam Laxalt’s campaign began this week. 

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MSNBC: The biggest problem with Nevada’s Laxalt slamming the FBI

Steve Benen // 9.29.22

The biggest problem with Nevada’s Adam Laxalt slamming the FBI is that he doesn’t appear to have any idea what he’s talking about.

[…]

But let’s not overlook the Republican candidates who reading from a similarly partisan script. NBC News reported on the U.S. Senate campaign in Nevada, where, ironically, Republican Adam Laxalt has accused Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of not showing enough support for law enforcement.

[A]fter the event, Laxalt, a Republican who was once Nevada’s top law enforcement official, refused to support the FBI. “The FBI is far too political right now, and we need to do something to take the polarization out of that,” Laxalt said in a response to a question from NBC News. “We just can’t afford to have our top law enforcement agency that politicized.”

This follows a tweet Laxalt published last month in which he accused unnamed people from “the Left” of “weaponizing” agencies such as the FBI. For proof, the Republican pointed to the court-approved search warrant of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.

Evidently, as Laxalt sees it, if law enforcement is investigating possible crimes from someone the Nevada Republican likes, then there must be something wrong with law enforcement. It’s emblematic of a rather twisted vision in which the rule of law must succumb to partisan preferences.

Part of what makes rhetoric like Laxalt’s so problematic is the irony: He is, after all, Nevada’s former attorney general. Another part is the hypocrisy: If Laxalt is going to slam Cortez Masto for failing to support law enforcement, perhaps he should show greater caution before failing to show support for law enforcement.

But even if we put these relevant details aside, the most glaring flaw in the GOP candidate’s criticisms is the plain fact that Laxalt is just wrong: By any fair measure, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is, and has long been, one of the single most conservative institutions in the federal government.

If Laxalt genuinely believes that “the Left” has politicized the FBI, then the Nevadan has no idea what he’s talking about.

[…]

If Laxalt wants to be taken seriously, he should complain about something else.

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