In his upcoming book, former January 6 committee investigator Denver Riggleman suggests that since Republican Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas) and Paul Gosar (Arizona) have a real fondness for “unhinged conspiracy theories” and this makes him believe the two Trump-loving allies are fully divorced from reality, Insider reports.

“I came to believe Gosar and Gohmert may have had serious issues cognitive issues,” Riggleman writes regarding his former colleauges.

There has been some conscience raising about lawmakers’ mental health as they age and this led Insider to launch the “Red, White, And Gray” project as part of a poll. This project assesses the costs, benefits, and dangers of a democracy led by elderly politicians.

And the results were pretty overwhelming: eighty-one percent of respondents report they are in favor of subjecting congressional candidates to physical and mental exams before permitting them to serve. And as the 2024 presidential election begins to take shape, this is beginning to gain traction.

In excerpts from his book, The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation, as cited by The Guardian, Riggleman writes that Gohmert and Gosar “seemed to be joined at the brain stem when it came to their eagerness to believe wild, dramatic fantasies about Democrats, the media, and big tech.”

If Riggleman has sharp criticism on this it’s because he was witness to a steady dose of the unhinged ideas the two conservatives would take part in as they huddled with fellow members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. Gohmert and Gosar (both in their 60s) are part of a group of extreme right lawmakers like Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (Georgia) who habitually spread conspiracy theories. And of course, it can be safely said that these crazed and often baseless allegations are based on extreme partisanship, Insider notes.

Riggleman cites one case where Gohmert fumed about the alleged shadow-banning of Republicans on social media by “master algorithms” a gibe at technology companies that apparently prompted other members in the room to nod in agreement.

But that’s not all, he also writes. Gohmert (and Gosar) promote extremist ideas — things like lobbying for the dissolution of the District of Columbia if Republicans regain the House this fall.

Paul Gosar says one of the first things Republicans should do if they retake Congress is disband the District of Columbia, put federal buildings under control of Congress, and deed the rest of the city to Maryland. pic.twitter.com/3hts5Lbipf

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 26, 2022

But Gohmert and Gosar aren’t the only extremists — not by a longshot.

“Scott Perry, Jody Hice, Randy Weber and the caucus chairman, Andy Biggs, all said things that stunned me,” Riggleman notes of the MAGA lawmakers who jolted him into an uncomfortable awareness during his time in congress.

GOP Reps. Perry and Biggs have been subpoenaed by the select committee investigating the failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

But there is some good news here: We’re soon going to be rid of Gohmert. The Texas Republican lost his bid to replace Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. But Paxton doesn’t sound like a prize either, after fleeing his house when he was served a subpoena that stems from a lawsuit filed by an abortion rights group.

Oh well. Maybe that’s for another story someday. Just be glad for now that Gohmert will be gone.