The Man Who Kickstarted The Russia Investigation Is Running For Congress

Most Americans might not know Tom Malinowski's name yet. But come election season in 2018, he'll probably get plenty of attention as Malinowski runs for Congress. As someone who helped jumpstart Congress' interest in investigating Russian election interference, Malinowski can expect extra media attention — and it doesn't hurt that he's competing for one of several House seats Democrats think they can flip to take control of the lower chamber.

Malinowski announced he'd be running for New Jersey's 7th District seat in October. And as a former official in the administrations of both President Obama and President Clinton, Malinowski brings plenty of prior government experience to his resume.

In fact, it was during the final days of Malinowski's tenure at the Obama State Department when he delivered case numbers to a handful of U.S. senators, hoping they'd pick up the thread and investigate further. Those numbers corresponded with several intelligence reports on Russian interference in the recent U.S. election.

And while the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to look into any possible illegal coordination between Russia and President Trump's campaign is an important step, Malinowski thinks it's far from sufficient, which is a factor in why he's running for Congress.

In an op-ed at Politico, Malinowski laid out three necessary steps to "safeguard our democracy." His first suggestion is pretty straightforward: "safeguard our elections." Malinowski points out a handful of glaring vulnerabilities in America's voting process. For instance, many vote on "outmoded, hack-able machines" that lack a backup paper record. If hacking were to occur, this deficit makes tracking the extent of interference impossible.

Malinowski also wants to do more to bar foreign powers from buying influence with American politicians. He points specifically to the threat of foreign money sneaking in through shell companies. Set up in a way that hides the identities of those funding them, shell company purchases can be a stealth mode of purchasing access and/or influence with elected officials. Malinowski cites one example — one-third of Trump condos in South Florida are reportedly owned by limited liability companies (LLCs). Malinowski wants to pass legislation to make that kind of interference illegal.

Malinowski cites a final threat to American democracy — online propaganda. He eschews any kind of governmental interference with the internet itself, but does support pressuring social media companies to do a better job informing users on the credibility of sources. Malinowski also wants rules imposed on political advertising online.

Malinowski's most recent job title was assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor. According to Malinowski's campaign website, his work in the Obama administration included stopping the use of torture, defending the human rights of women and the LGBTQ population, challenging dictators, and protecting "our privacy on the internet," among other goals.

Malinowski is an immigrant from Poland, a background that he says provokes "extra pride in representing our country and fighting to protect our values around the world." After seeing dysfunctional political systems abroad, Malinowski is adamant that Americans not lose sight of the benefits and importance of bipartisanship. He cites specifically his friendship with Republican Sen. John McCain and their joined efforts to champion human rights.

Malinowski is entering a packed Democratic primary, with five other candidates vying to take on the current Republican holder of New Jersey's 7th seat, Rep. Leonard Lance. The Republican is seen as vulnerable, as his vote against GOP efforts to reform health care is seen as a potential turnoff to hardline conservative voters in the district.

https://www.bustle.com/p/who-is-tom-malinowski-the-man-who-kickstarted-the-russia-investigation-is-running-for-congress-7856346

Rep. Tom Malinowski to host virtual forum on QAnon, misinformation

Following reports that a popular conspiracy theory website created by a Berkeley Heights man was shut down, Rep. Tom Malinowski announced he will hold a public forum discussing the topic of misinformation online.

Malinowski (D-Hunterdon) will host the virtual forum on Friday to discuss the conspiracy movement QAnon and the spread of misinformation on digital platforms.

The Democrat congressman will be joined by Oren Segal, vice president of the Center on Extremism at the AntiDefamation League.

Earlier this month, Malinowski and Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Republican lawmaker from Virginia, introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning QAnon, a movement promoting a collection of unfounded conspiracy theories that have spread widely on the internet since 2017.

These conspiracy theories are undermining public trust in America’s democratic institutions, and are beginning to actively influence U.S. elections, according to Malinowski.

The FBI has assessed with high confidence that “fringe political conspiracy theories,” including QAnon, “very likely motivate some domestic extremists, wholly or in part, to engage in criminal or violent activity,” and that these conspiracy theories “very likely encourage the targeting of specific people, places and organizations, thereby increasing the likelihood of violence against these targets," Malinowski said in a statement.

Malinowski said the influence of these groups has been felt recently in Central Jersey with QAnon supporters marching in Westfield two weeks ago and the QAnon site that drew 10 million visitors in July being traced to Jason J. Gelinas of Berkeley Heights, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

“Conspiracy movements and political extremists that just a few years ago organized largely online are spilling over into the real world and putting our communities at risk,” Malinowski said. “It’s time to pull back the curtain and expose the white supremacists, anti-Semites, and extremists from the left and right leveraging misinformation to undermine our democracy, and spread fear in our communities.”

https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/politics/new-jersey/2020/09/16/rep-tom-malinowski-host-virtual-forum-qanon-misinformation/3474463001/

Dem Rep. Tom Malinowski: We need illegal immigrants to 'mow our beautiful lawns'

Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., defended the presence of both legal and illegal immigrants on Tuesday, asking his constituents: "Who do you think is mowing our beautiful lawns?"

"There are a lot of jobs in our community, that like it or not, for better or for worse, Americans are not willing to take,” Malinowski said in a video obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Malinowski, the freshman Democrat who is now running for reelection in New Jersey's seventh district, began citing statics showing the major role migrants play in the workforce.

“Who do you think is taking care of our seniors? Fifty percent of the elderly care workers in the state of New Jersey are immigrants, most of them legal, most of them documented. And there's certainly some who are not," the congressman told the crowd. "Who do you think is mowing our beautiful lawns in Somerset County? We don’t usually ask, but a lot of those workers are undocumented.”

After one attendee mentioned that he works at a children's coding training program called "Code Ninjas," Malinowski joked that they were a "bunch of elitists" who aren't "going to mow lawns."

Malinowski represents a swing district previously held by the GOP. He is also one of more than 120 House Democrats who support impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-rep-tom-malinowski-illegal-immigrants-to-mow-lawns