WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on Friday became the first Republican lawmaker to testify under oath about her actions leading up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Greene has not been accused of wrongdoing in court or by the House committee investigating what led to the riot. She immediately condemned the Jan. 6 attack and has repeatedly said she was not involved. No evidence ties her directly to the violence at the Capitol.
But her public testimony in state administrative court, in response to a challenge to her eligibility to run for a second term, is being closely watched for potential details that might emerge about events leading to the riot, including information the House Jan. 6 select committee may not have because it has not subpoenaed members of Congress.
Five voters challenging her eligibility to run in her northwest Georgia congressional district have cited a provision in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted shortly after the Civil War, that bars members of Congress from returning to their seats if they participated in an insurrection or rebellion against the government.
They argue that Greene's repeated assertion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from then-President Trump contributed to the violence. Greene calls the challenge a stunt by her political opponents. Her attorney James Bopp Jr. argued that the challenge is an attempt to deny voters the right to decide whether Greene should remain in office and that the Georgia administrative court is the wrong venue to challenge her eligibility. He said the challenge should occur after she wins and is sworn in, and that Congress, not a court, is what decides whether a person qualifies to serve in the office.
In advance of Jan. 6, Greene promoted the day as "our 1776 moment" — a reference to the American Revolution that other GOP lawmakers also invoked.
Perhaps more significant is a video she posted to social media in which she accused President-elect Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of treason and noted that the crime carries the death penalty.
The administrative judge will make a recommendation to Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as to whether Greene should appear on the ballot. The state's primary is May 24, and early voting starts the first week of May.
