Donald Trump has given California Republican Devin Nunes one of the nation's highest honours for a civilian.
The outgoing President has continued his mission of pardons and awards as he closes out his time as Commander in Chief.
According to Buzzfeed, Nunes helped undermine Trump's impeachment proceedings and the investigation into allegations Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump win office.
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The Republican affected both operations by spreading 'unfounded conspiracies'.
As a result of his efforts, Nunes has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an honour previously given to people like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Neil Armstrong.
The US President thanked the member of Congress for exposing what he called the 'Russia Hoax', while the White House claimed Nunes' 2017 investigation helped 'unearth the crime of the century'.
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Nunes chaired the US House Intelligence Committee and four years ago he launched an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US Election.
The inquiry looked into allegations of misconducted perpetrated by the Obama-Biden administration that accused them of spying on the Trump campaign.
A month into the probe, Nunes temporarily stepped aside from the investigation because the Office of Congressional Ethics began an investigation into the Republican over allegations he leaked classified information to the public. Nunes denied all allegations.
The White House recognised these efforts in a statement, which said: "Congressman Nunes pursued the Russia Hoax at great personal risk and never stopped standing up for the truth.
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"He had the fortitude to take on the media, the FBI, the Intelligence Community, the Democrat Party, foreign spies, and the full power of the Deep State.
"Congressman Devin Nunes is a public servant of unmatched talent, unassailable integrity, and unwavering resolve. He uncovered the greatest scandal in American history."
Nunes also released the Nunes Memo in 2018, which alleged there was a FBI conspiracy against Trump. He launched an investigation into the FBI and Justice Department and accused both agencies of using their powers to negatively affect the President.
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During the impeachment proceedings, the Republican focused more on how the call between Trump and Ukraine leaked, rather than the content of the call.
He asked witnesses in the impeachment questions that came from conspiracy theories on fringe, far-right websites in an attempt to draw attention away from more pertinent queries.
In 2019, the House Intelligence Committee released a report that concluded Nunes' contact with Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and his associate Lev Parnas, was 'highly unusual and likely to renew calls from Democrats for Mr Nunes to face an ethics inquiry'.
During his awarding of the Medal of Freedom, Trump praised Nunes for helping 'thwart a plot to take down a sitting United States president'.
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