Congressional Ethics

Americans remain united in their condemnation of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th and still expect those responsible to be held accountable. Today, the Senate fell just 10 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required to convict twice-impeached former President Donald Trump to hold him accountable for orchestrating and inciting the bloody attack on our democracy that left five people dead, and came dangerously close to many more deaths. Too many GOP Senators, fearing continued bullying from Donald Trump and primary challenges from extremists, chose political expediency and their own reelection over the safety of the nation and the well-being of our democracy.

Our democracy was attacked by the President of the United States on Wednesday, January 6th, and we must ensure that it never happens again. The Senate must immediately come back into session and quickly convene a trial and convict President Trump for inciting an insurrection in an effort to overturn the results of a free and fair election in which the American people elected Joe Biden by a wide margin as our next President. President Trump’s continuous lies over the last year about a ‘stolen election’, his baseless failed lawsuits, and his calls urging state elections officials to throw out the votes of predominantly Black and Brown communities laid the groundwork to incite the mob that stormed the Capitol last week. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the American people and to our democracy, and that threat will remain until he is removed from office and banned from ever running again. The House is to be commended for again impeaching the President, although it was shocking that only 10 House Republicans stood up for the Constitution and the rule of law. Now the Senate must act, and it must act swiftly, to end Donald Trump’s presidency.   

“Part of democracy is being willing to accept the results of a legitimate election, even when it doesn’t favor you. We’ve just lost sight of that,” said Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan advocacy group that supports voting rights. “Now what we’re hearing is this rhetoric that is leading people to believe democracy doesn’t work if it doesn’t get me my outcome. ....That rhetoric is absolutely decimating confidence in our democracy.”

Today, Common Cause urged every Member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection by a mob that stormed the United States Capitol, leaving five dead, in an attempt to stop certification of the legitimate election of Joe Biden as the next President. The letter urges Members to pass a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office within 24 hours, and, if they do not, to immediately vote to impeach the President for inciting the deadly insurrection. 

Actually, the I.G. protection component of the reform package has received early action in the House, according to Aaron Scherb of Common Cause, one of the watchdog groups pushing for these changes. On Jan. 5, the eve of the Capitol riot, the bipartisan Inspector General Protection Act — introduced by Representatives Ted Lieu, Democrat of California, and Jody Hice, Republican of Georgia — passed the House by voice vote. The act would help protect inspectors general from retaliation, for example by requiring the executive branch to notify Congress before placing an I.G. on administrative leave. And it would help ensure that vacant I.G. slots are filled promptly by requiring the executive to provide Congress an explanation for failing to nominate an I.G. after an extended vacancy.

On this edition of Your Call, we'll discuss the state of the Georgia Senate runoff elections. The AP has now called the win for Democrat Raphael Warnock, who will be the first Black senator in Georgia's history. If Jon Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress. Later in the show, we'll discuss how dozens of Republicans in the House and Senate are planning to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory as Congress certifies the electoral college vote count. They are repeating dangerous conspiracy theories about widespread fraud and a stolen election. Civil rights lawyers and citizen activists say the damage they are doing should not be underestimated. What precedent is being set? Guests: Anoa Changa, Atlanta-based freelance journalist covering electoral justice & Sylvia Albert, director of Voting and Elections at Common Cause