Washington – President Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California, one of his most loyal allies on Capitol Hill, during a private ceremony at the White House on Monday. The president must also award Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio the medal, several sources confirmed to CBS News.
The award is the nation’s largest civilian tribute and is awarded to people “who have made exceptional contributions to America’s security or national interests, world peace or cultural activities or other significant public or private initiatives,” according to the White House.
Nunes and Jordan have been two of Trump’s biggest supporters in Congress, defending the president during the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and during the impeachment process last year. Nunes received the award at the White House on Monday, the White House said, while Jordan will receive the Freedom Medal next week, two sources confirmed to CBS News.
In an announcement that Trump would present the award to Nunes, the White House said the California Republican had unearthed “the crimes of the century” and praised him as a “public servant of unparalleled talent, unassailable integrity and unwavering determination”.
“He discovered the biggest scandal in American history,” said the White House.
The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes’s majority team wrote a controversial memo in 2018 alleging that the FBI and the Justice Department unduly spied on Trump’s associates and harbored an anti-Trump trend. He also stated that Mr. Trump’s transition team members acted inappropriately “unmasked“by members of the intelligence community during the Obama administration.
Alex Brandon / AP
Mr Trump mistakenly suggested in an interview with “Fox & Friends” in 2018 that Nunes should receive the Medal of Honor for his response to special attorney Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The Medal of Honor is the highest military award in the country.
“Congressman Nunes pursued the Russian hoax at great personal risk and has never stopped defending the truth,” the White House said on Monday of how it handled the investigation in Russia. “He had the courage to stand up to the media, the FBI, the Intelligence Community, the Democratic Party, foreign spies and all the power of the Deep State. Devin paid a price for his courage.”
Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, accused Democrats of launching politically charged investigations aimed at undermining Trump’s presidency and suggested that the FBI and the Justice Department during the Obama administration were involved in misconduct. The Ohio Republican led the team of Republican lawmakers who defended Trump during last year’s Senate impeachment trial, after which he was acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
During his presidency, Mr. Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to a group of sports personalities, as well as his political supporters, including Miriam Adelson, wife of Republican Party megadonor Sheldon Adelson, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and famous golfer Tiger Woods.
Lou Holtz, a Hall of Fame college football coach who commented in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention in August, received the president’s award last month.