The White House slammed progressive Rep. , D-Wash., who admitted she spoke with foreign ambassadors about getting oil to despite U.S. sanctions, defending the outreach as “literally our right and responsibility.”
“The Democrats continue to show Americans who they really are â the America Last party who sip margaritas with terrorists, advocate for illegal alien criminals, and undermine the United States to aid a failed, communist regime,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital.
“Pramila Jayapals actions are shameful from a sitting Congresswoman clearly suffering from [Trump Derangement Syndrome],” Wales added.Â
Rep. , D-Wash., said during a recent Seattle briefing following a congressional delegation trip to Cuba, that she discussed the islands worsening fuel shortages and U.S. policy toward the communist regime.
“I was in conversations with the ambassadors from Mexico and some other places ⦠trying to figure out how to get oil there,” Jayapal said during the briefing, calling the situation on the island “a crisis beyond imagination.”
Jayapal said the event was part of a broader briefing on the humanitarian situation in Cuba following her recent visit.
“As many of you know, I traveled to Cuba as part of a congressional delegation last month,” she said. “It is part of my role to see how is actually affecting the people in the countries where that policy is being implemented.”
She said she met with Cuban President Miguel DÃaz-Canel, senior government officials, political dissidents, civil society groups and foreign diplomats during the trip.
“As the President stated, Cuba is a failing nation that has been horribly run for many years and whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela,” a White House official told Fox News Digital.
Video of the remarks circulated widely on X, where users criticized the progressive lawmakers comments and raised legal concerns.
Conservative accounts amplified the clip, including End Wokeness, which claimed she was “conspiring against the U.S.” and suggested her actions could constitute a federal felony. Libs of TikTok wrote that her actions “seems a little like to me.”
Social media users also pointed to potential legal implications. “Traitor. She should be prosecuted,” wrote “The Charlie Kirk Show” executive producer Andrew Kolvet on X.
Those claims are political commentary and have not been independently verified, and no investigation or charges have been publicly announced.
Jayapal responded to the backlash in a post on X, writing, “Breaking news: Members of Congress meet with ambassadors of other countries every day. Thats literally our right and responsibility.”
Her remarks came as she sharply criticized , describing them as “economic bombing of the infrastructure.”
“It is illegal. It is against the law,” she said. “This is essentially doing the same thing. It is bombing the infrastructure of Cuba with that essentially ensure that the infrastructure collapses.”
The controversy has also prompted discussion of the Logan Act, a rarely used federal law that bars unauthorized individuals from negotiating with foreign governments in disputes involving the United States.
Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital the statute has never resulted in a conviction and has been used only sparingly in U.S. history.
“There has never been a conviction under it â in fact, there have only been two indictments, the last one about 174 years ago,” McCar
