Following FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s December 19 testimony before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took to Fox News to complain that “the FBI [has] been infected with an intractable bias” that favors Hillary Clinton and is out to get President Donald Trump.

Gaetz’s comments come as Fox News figures have attempted to muddy the waters of the investigation by attacking the FBI, baselessly alleging conflicts of interest in the investigation, and even going so far as to outright advocate for the Trump administration to remove Mueller. Now, following Fox host Jesse Watters suggesting that Mueller’s probe could be “a coup in America” and Fox contributor Kevin Jackson floating a conspiracy theory that the FBI might have planned to assassinate Trump, it appears as though Gaetz has followed Fox’s lead in the effort to smear Mueller and the FBI. In a December 20 interview on Fox News, Gaetz stated that “the senior levels of the FBI have been infected with an intractable bias that seems to favor Hillary Clinton and work against Donald Trump.” Gaetz went on to accuse “the FBI's senior leadership” of “hatch[ing] a scheme to deprive Donald Trump the presidency both before and after his election.” From the December 20 edition of Fox News’ Happening Now:

JON SCOTT (CO-HOST): You’re not very happy with the FBI’s behavior in all of this lead up to the announcement of Bob Mueller’s investigation, and so forth.

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Well, the senior levels of the FBI have been infected with an intractable bias that seems to favor Hillary Clinton and work against President Donald Trump. Andrew McCabe gave testimony yesterday behind closed doors, but we’re calling for open sworn testimony under oath so the American people can see the truth about what’s going on. Andrew McCabe was present when the FBI’s senior leadership hatched a scheme to deprive Donald Trump the presidency both before and after his election. That is totally unacceptable and it poses a clear and present danger to our democracy. That’s why we’ve got to expose the truth.

SCOTT: Are you referring to the ‘meeting in Andy’s office’ that is contained in those Peter Strzok texts to his mistress?

GAETZ: Absolutely. That’s right, Peter Strzok was texting his mistress that he praised her for the plan that she hatched in Andy’s office. So, the current deputy director of the FBI is a key witness in a potential scheme to deprive President Trump his ascension to the office he was elected to serve in. It’s absolutely outrageous.