Several Democratic House members have seized on the new Rolling Stone magazine article on the Capitol insurrection to call for the expulsion of the pro-Trump hardliners in Congress who were allegedly involved in planning the rallies on Jan. 6 that preceded the deadly attack.
“Any member of Congress who helped plot a terrorist attack on our nation’s Capitol must be expelled,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) declared via Twitter on Sunday night.
“Those responsible remain a danger to our democracy, our country, and human life in the vicinity of our Capitol and beyond,” she tweeted.
Fellow New York Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) slammed the “cabal” of GOP lawmakers identified in the Rolling Stone article who “not only incited but also aided and abetted the insurrection.”
“There’s no place for insurrectionists in the US Congress,” Torres tweeted. “Expel any and all accomplices.”
Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and David Cicilline (D-RI) echoed similar demands for removal.
“Any Member who had knowledge of or helped plan the January 6 attack on the Capitol needs to be immediately expelled from Congress,” Cicilline tweeted. “They cannot be trusted with the future of our democracy and country.”
The calls came after two unnamed organizers of the pro-Trump rallies on Jan. 6 told the Rolling Stone that they had had “dozens” of meetings with multiple members of Congress or their staffers to plan the events.
Those lawmakers were Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX), the organizers said.
Gosar allegedly even went as far as to claim there would be a “blanket pardon” from the White House for the organizers, who also said that they have been speaking to the House Jan. 6 select committee.
"Disunion by force is treason." – Andrew Jackson
What ever the second step to expel members for sedition should now be taken as they have been identified.
No wonder McCarthy wants some of them back on the committee.
I really hope this is a thoroughly-researched and backed-up article, because if it’s not, it’s going to have massive blowback and harm the whole investigation.