Surprising no one who paid attention to Fox News Wednesday, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes took to the House floor to denounce the investigation into Donald Trump's abuses of power and misconduct as a "cult."

"What we're seeing right now from Democrats on the intelligence committee down in the SCIF right now is like a cult," Nunes said (on the official House record). "These are a group of people loyally following their leader as he bounces from one outlandish conspiracy theory to another."

"And the media are the cult followers, permanently stationed outside the committee spaces, pretending to take everything seriously because they, too, support the goal of removing the president," he added.

I'm thinking about the media gathered every day on the South Lawn waiting for another yellicopter session and shaking my head a bit at that last part. But I digress.

Rep. Jackie Speier knows a thing or two about cults, having survived being shot and left for dead by the Jim Jones cult. Suffice it to say, she was not going to take that kind of a slam from Nunes sitting down. She took to Dear Leader's favorite communication medium to smack him down.

Devin Nunes calling the Intelligence Committee’s fact-finding mission a cult is dispicable. I know about cults. Cults are led by maniacal narcissists who expect complete adoration and relinquishment of independent thought. I suggest Mr. Nunes look elsewhere.

— Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) October 31, 2019

(Yes, I know she misspelled despicable, but the point was made nonetheless)

Clearly the "cult" moniker is a new Big Lie, intended to project onto Democrats what Republicans themselves are doing. We heard it from Nunes stenographer Lee Smith on Fox Business yesterday and have heard it repeated on Fox News.

Nunes knows this much: Repeat the lie often enough and people believe it as fact. It's one of the psychological control devices cult leaders use.