The House voted Thursday to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for pulling the fire alarm in a Capitol Hill office building to delay a vote to avoid a government shutdown earlier this year.
The lower house voted 214-191 to censure the new Bronx and Westchester lawmaker, with 211 Republicans and three Democrats voting in favor.
Reps. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) voted against their colleagues. Twenty-three were absent from the room.
Five voting members were present, including Reps. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Deborah Ross (D-NC) and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) of the House Ethics Committee, which declined to investigate the incident.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), who also sits on the ethics panel, disagreed with their vote, saying Bowman was “faced with multiple opportunities to defuse the situation” but “chose not to inform” Capitol Police officials, “showing a shameful disregard for public safety.”
“As a former High School Principal and Member of Congress, there is no excuse for this kind of behavior,” Joyce said in a statement. “When the House Ethics Committee convened on this matter, as required following the indictment of a Member for criminal conduct, I was surprised and disappointed that the majority of the Members of this bipartisan committee did not agree to proceed with any additional action or investigation. “
The House voted to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman on Thursday for pulling the fire alarm more than two months ago. USCP
“Therefore, since we are not taking this case up in the House Ethics Committee following that decision, I consider it appropriate to vote to censure Jamaal Bowman for his disgraceful actions,” he added.
Bowman is the 27th member to be impeached in the lower house after Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was reprimanded last month for promoting calls to eliminate Israel and making other antisemitic statements during the Jewish state’s ongoing war with Hamas terrorists.
House Democrats failed on Wednesday to block a final vote on the resolution, which was introduced as a special motion by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) earlier this week, meaning it would require consideration within 48 hours.
At the time, his party tried to delay the vote to avoid a government shutdown. AP
The resolution stated that Bowman “disrupted the work of Congress while the vote was in progress” and that his actions were “a theatrical attempt to create panic, thereby endangering the safety and well-being of Members of the House, staff, and members of the public on the Capitol grounds.”
“It hurts me and my colleagues and the American people that the Republican Party is not serious and can’t legislate,” Bowman, 47, said on the House floor today. “I am in no way obstructing the official proceedings.”
The “Squad” representative pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count the previous month for falsely pulling a fire alarm at the Cannon House Office Building on Sept. 30 and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine.
The resolution stated that Bowman “disrupted the work of Congress while the vote was in progress” and that his actions were a “theatrical attempt to create panic.” Breitbart News
The deal was reached between Bowman and DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, allowing the congressman to see charges dismissed after three months. He also agreed to write a personal letter of apology to US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger.
In a statement after the plea deal was announced, Bowman thanked the DC Attorney General’s Office and the US Capitol Police’s Office of the Attorney General for having “agreed I did not obstruct or intend to obstruct any House vote or proceeding.”
But a spokesperson for the US Capitol Police issued a statement disagreeing with the congressman.
“Squad” representatives had pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count the previous month for falsely pulling a fire alarm at the Cannon House Office Building. Breitbart News
“Our General Counsel did not, nor did anyone in our Department, make that determination. We sent a thoroughly investigated case to the US Attorney’s Office and prosecutors there did not pursue it,” the spokesperson said.
The House was debating a bill to extend government spending at current levels until November 17 at the time of the false alarm.
Bowman said he “thought the alarm was going to open the door” and pulled it “by accident,” adding that he was “just trying to get my vote out and the door that’s normally open wasn’t open, it was closed.”
“Our General Counsel did not, nor did anyone in our Department, make that determination. We sent a thoroughly investigated case to the US Attorney’s Office and prosecutors there did not pursue it,” said a Capitol Police spokesperson. Rod Lamkey – CNP
However, security camera footage shows Bowman taking down two emergency exit signs from the door before pulling the alarm — and then running away.
Capitol Police investigators looking into the incident said other security footage showed the Democratic socialist “jogging” down the stairs after tripping the alarm and “walking at a normal pace” when he exited onto New Jersey Avenue.
Bowman then passed seven Capitol Police officers without informing them of his “accident,” which forced an hour-and-a-half evacuation of the building, investigators said.
However, security camera footage shows Bowman taking down two emergency exit signs from the door before pulling the alarm — and then running away. Twitter
The lawmaker is expected to return to court on January 29, 2024, to assess his compliance with the plea agreement and consider dismissing the charges.
He faces at least three primary challengers next year in New York’s 16th Congressional District, including Westchester County Executive George Latimer, finance executive Martin Dolan and Michael Gerald, a Baptist pastor and former New Jersey state trooper.
Gerald told The Post after the plea deal was announced that the congressman’s actions in pulling the fire alarm were “the height of stupidity.”
“He heard, as we all go to school, ‘Don’t pull the fire alarm,'” he said, noting Bowman must have “presided over a lot of fire drills” as a former high school principal.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a pro-Israel candidate, has also entered the race, releasing a key campaign video a day before Bowman’s tirade in which he chided the Democratic socialist for voting against a resolution condemning Hamas.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
