Democratic Congresswoman Rep. Barbara Lee, who accused President Donald Trump of “militarizing” the White House following his appointment of General John Kelly to White House Chief of Staff, has longstanding ties to communism.

On Friday, Lee claimed, “By putting [General] John Kelly in charge, [President] Trump is militarizing the White House [and] putting our executive branch in the hands of an extremist.”

By putting Gen John Kelly in charge, Pres Trump is militarizing the White House & putting our executive branch in the hands of an extremist. — Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) July 28, 2017

Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer condemned the remarks, describing it as “wrong” and “offensive on multiple levels.

Not only is this wrong, it's offensive on multiple levels. https://t.co/x4392Of2QI — Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) July 29, 2017

Back in 2014 @RepBarbaraLee committed to protecting cop-killing FBI Most Wanted Terrorist Chesimard/Shakur. https://t.co/yw8oZHbG9a — John Cardillo (@johncardillo) July 29, 2017

Communist magazine People’s Weekly World reportedly listed Lee as a co-sponsor for a Communist Party USA (CPUSA) event in 1999.

Hey @RepBarbaraLee why did you co-sponsor this Communist Party USA fund raising event in Berkeley in 1999? pic.twitter.com/upGDXjPQlf — Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) July 29, 2017

In 2002, Lee also received the endorsement of the CPUSA for her Congressional race, alongside former Rep. Mike Honda. The party’s national board wrote in a report:

The priority labor campaigns deserve our support. In addition our work will take us beyond these races to election districts where we have organization and where there are strong pro-labor candidates, African American, Mexican American and Latino candidates such as Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. Barbara Lee.

At a 2003 People’s Weekly World fundraising luncheon, “Each honoree received a special congressional certificate from Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, in whose district the banquet was held.”

Following Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro’s death last November, Lee said she “was very sad for the Cuban people,” claiming Castro “led a revolution in Cuba that led social improvements for his people,” ignoring his legacy of mass murder, totalitarianism, and widespread poverty. Lee used the death of Castro, who she met with eight times throughout her career, to attack then-President Elect Donald Trump.

In February this year, Lee also praised some participants of the riot at UC Berkeley, which successfully canceled a talk from former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos. She wrote in a press release:

Milo Yiannopoulos has made a career of inflaming racist, sexist and nativist sentiments. Berkeley has a proud history of dissent and students were fully within their rights to protest peacefully. I am disappointed by the unacceptable acts of violence by outside agitators which were counterproductive and dangerous.

Lee also accused Donald Trump of trying to “bully [students] into silence” after he threatened to cut federal funding if students at the university could not respect the first amendment.

President Donald Trump cannot bully our university into silence. Simply put, President Trump’s empty threat to cut funding from UC Berkeley is an abuse of power. As a senior member of the education funding subcommittee, I will continue to stand up to President Trump’s overreach and defend the rights of our students and faculty.

A prominent member of the Resist movement, Lee also devoted an entire town hall meeting in May to the question of whether, and how, President Donald Trump can be removed from office.

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