Violating their oath of office
Investigators are now looking at the public posts on media that congresspeople have made regarding the January 6 insurrection attempt. Supporting the insurrection or the overthrow of the election is unconstitutional and a betrayal of their oath of office. Nancy Pelosi stated that “the enemy is within” and she is correct. No doubt several congresspeople felt safe from the mob for their support to overturn the election, but this is not certain.
Addressing the House, Dean Phillips (Minn. Democrat) recalling the events of Jan. 6, stated that lawmakers had looked for objects to defend themselves when the Capitol was breached and realized “a pencil is about all we had.”
“But I’m not here this evening to seek sympathy or just to tell my story [but] rather to make a public apology,” said Phillips. “For recognizing that we were sitting ducks in this room as the chamber was about to be breached. I screamed to my colleagues to follow me, to follow me across the aisle to the Republican side of the chamber, so that we could blend in — so that we could blend in.”
Phillips explained that he believed he and his colleagues would be safe from the rioters if they were mistaken for Republican lawmakers. However, he said that he realized that blending in was not a viable option for lawmakers of color.
And the reason he thought people might be safe if they grouped with the Republicans? It doesn’t matter whether Phillips thought it was white privilege or treasonous statements. The GOP has been infected with treasonous ideas, such as QAnon, Oathkeepers, Proud Boys, Trump movement, and other unconstitutional ideas. Only a few Republicans have spoken out against these ideas. The majority has kept quiet or spoken out in support of overturning the election, support for these groups.
The investigators will be about what to do with congresspeople who aided and abetted the insurrection through support beforehand or support afterward. They violated their oath of office and may be criminally liable.
