Louisiana Voice

LouisianaVoice has learned that Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Florida), chairman of the House Ethics Committee, is said to be looking into the possible expulsion from Congress any members who might have conspired with or encouraged the attempted takeover of the federal government last Wednesday by Donald Trump supporters.

Rep. Clay Higgins has been mentioned as one of those being targeted by the investigation as has Rep. Steve Scalise.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) has released a half-hearted rebuke of Trump and the insurgents even as the PGA CANCELS its contract with to hold its 2022 championship tournament at Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey and several major corporations have SUSPENDED political contributions in the wake of the Trump-fueled riot that killed at least six people and left congressional members’ offices trashed and looted.

LABI has been almost as enthusiastic in scolding the rioters as Trump and was and only slightly ahead of Trump’s belated order that flags be lowered to half-mast in honor of Capitol police officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood whose death was announced Monday morning, five days after the riots.

It would certainly be nice if the business community’s main lobbying arm could show the decency to commit to a peaceful transfer of power by publicly rebuking those who participated in this assault on democracy last week in a little stronger language.

But then, that would be far too much to expect of LABI and its leadership.

Even STRIPE, the San Francisco company that has been processing payments to the Trump campaign, is also cutting ties with Trump.

So, it would seem reasonable to lump LABI in with the likes of Higgins.

Higgins has been a notorious loose cannon since his election to represent Louisiana’s 3^rd District in 2016, often embellishing his law enforcement credentials in congressional hearings, prompting his former boss, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz to public dispute some of his claims.

Higgins also was the lone Louisiana representative to vote no on HOUSE RESOLUTION 1155 back on September 29, 2020. That resolution in part:

• Reaffirmed the commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power called for in the Constitution of the United States, and
• Intended that there should be no disruptions by the President or any person in power to overturn the will of the people of the United States.

There were only four other nay votes on the resolution calling for a peaceful transfer – Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Louie Gohmert (R- Tx.), Steve King (R-Ia.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). To say those five violated their oath of office would be belaboring the obvious.

Reps. Scalise, Mike Johnson, Ralph Abraham and Garret Graves voted yes but reversed themselves on Jan. 6 when they voted in favor of the objection to accepting the election results, thus demonstrating that they cannot be trusted to keep their word and casting doubts on their loyalty to country over party. At least Higgins was consistent with his earlier vote by joining the others in objecting to certification.

Higgins’ name was not the only one that surfaced, however:

• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Minority Whip SCALISE (R-La.) are under the gun for what critics say was a failure to show leadership at a time of crisis.
• The siblings of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) have called for him to be expelled from Congress.
• The watchdog group Campaign for Accountability has called for an ethics investigation into whether Rep. MO BROOKS (R-Ala.) may have incited the deadly riot with a speech he made prior to the breaching of the Capitol building.
• Rep. CORI BUSH (D-Mo.) says Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) have blood on their hands for inciting “this domestic terror attack though their attempts to overturn the election.” She said they have “broken their sacred oath of office” and must be expelled. Meanwhile, thousands of lawyers and law school alumni have signed an OPEN LETTER calling for Hawley and Cruz to be disbarred for their roles in challenging the election results which led, at lease indirectly, to the rioting.

It is expected that some specific cases will be brought before a grand jury for charges, according to a confidential source. The committee is looking at communications between some members and their staffs with leaders of the riot.

Meanwhile the ethics investigation that could lead to expulsion is moving ahead.

Censure has been the more common form of disciplinary action in Congress, requiring as it does a lower threshold of votes to impose. In U.S. history, there have been 20 members of Congress EXPELLED. Of that number 17 were expelled for their support of the Confederacy in the aftermath of secession. Fifteen were from the Senate and five from the House. Seven others resigned in lieu of expulsion. The most recent such resignation was that of Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) in 2006, who resigned following his conviction in connection with the Jack Abramoff scandals. The expulsion of Rep. William Sebastian of Arkansas was posthumously reversed.

No one answered a call to Deutch’s office and his voice mail was full and was unable to accept messages.