Marjorie Taylor Greene complains ‘nasty’ media won’t be barred from her trial
Marjorie Taylor Greene will face an administraive judge at a hearing Friday afternoon that could see the Georgia Republican banned from public office because of her alleged support for the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.
The congresswoman will be questioned about the 2021 insurrection by lawyer Ron Fein, representing a group of voters who filed a challenge with the Georgia secretary of state’s office alleging that Ms Greene helped facilitate the attack that ultimately sought to upend Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
They say that her behaviour violates a clause in the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment and makes her ineligible to run for reelection.
Among other things, the case against the congresswoman hinges on her repeated use of a “codeword” – specifically, repeated references to the year 1776 – which the laywers say encouraged the rioters who descended on the Capitol.
For her part, Ms Greene is appealing a federal judge’s ruling allowing a challenge to her eligibility to run for reelection to proceed and in the hour leading up to her hearing, the pro-Trump lawmaker took to Twitter to urge her fellow Republicans to “protect election integrity”.
The hearing is currently underway in Atlanta with Ms Greene giving testimony.
Rep Greene says that she was not asking them to actively engage in violence.
She was evasive when asked whether she wanted Congress to not certify Joe Biden as president, but said “yes” when asked if she believed that Mr Biden has not won the 2020 election.
Proceedings have been paused due to a technical issue.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:40
Another tweet is brought up in which Rep Greene tells her followers to come to Washington DC to protest the election results. She uses the hashtag #FightforTrump.
Ms Greene confirms that is what it says in the tweet.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:37
The objections and disruptions have annoyed the judge.
“This is not theatre. This is not an argument before the Supreme Court. This is an evidentiary hearing.”
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:33
Ms Greene is asked about her use of social media, how she uses it, and who reads it.
She is then asked about a specific tweet about election fraud from 3 December 2020 in which she was looking for a senator to join her and Mo Brooks in objecting to the election certification.
There are a series of objections from Rep Greene’s lawyer, Mr Bopp.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:32
Rep Greene is asked whether if someone broke the law to interfere with counting the electoral votes, would that make someone an enemy of the Constitution.
She says she doesn’t know. But she says hundreds broke law during the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.
Mr Fein keeps pressing on a hypothetical question: If she had advanced knowledge that someone sought to unlawfully interfere with the counting of electoral votes, would she be obliged to do something to stop that?
Mr Bopp objects and the objection is sustained.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:26
McCarthy said Trump accepted ‘some responsibility’ for Jan 6, new audio reveals
As Kevin McCarthy reels from the leak of a conversation in which he described telling Donald Trump to resign over the 6 January Capitol riot, a new recording has emerged of the top House Republican telling members of his party that the then-president accepted “some responsibility” for the attack.
Andrew Naughtie has the latest.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:20
Greene takes the stand
Marjorie Taylor Greene has taken the stand.
She is being questioned about her role as a congresswoman and what it means to her.
Marjorie Taylor Greene takes the stand in a hearing to decide if she is eligible to run for Congress again
(PBS)
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:17
Greene to be confronted in court with videos of her Jan 6 insurrection support
The attorney seeking to disqualify Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from seeking reelection based on her support for the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol said he plans to present video evidence of her own words that will show her support for the pro-Trump insurrection.
Andrew Feinberg reports on the opening statements from the hearing.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 16:02
‘This is not a show’
After a number of objections from Mr Bopp, the judge says what he has heard .so far he would have expected to have read in legal briefs prior to the hearing.
He announces the mid-morning break to applause from the audience, whom he quickly chastises: “This is not a show.”
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 15:53
Mr Magliocca provides a history of Shays’ Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion — two insurrections well-known to Americans in addition to the Civil War at the time of the writing of the 14th Amendment.
Both were protests by farmers regarding foreclosures and taxes respectively.
Oliver O’Connell22 April 2022 15:46