Far-right, “Trump in heels” State Sen. Amanda Chase (R-SD11) is not having a good week, to put it mildly. First, she finished third in the VA GOP’s gubernatorial nomination contest. Now…check out the following statement, hot off the presses, from the Virginia Senate Democrats, regarding this (VA State Sen. Amanda Chase (R) Files Lawsuit in Federal Court Alleging Her Censure Constitutes a “Civil Rights Violation”) from February 1. For more background on this, see Video: Leading Up to Censure Vote, Sen. Amanda Chase’s Republican Colleagues Stand Up – One After Another – and Excoriate Her, Urge Her to Seek Help [UPDATED: Senate Votes 24-9 For Censure]; Video: As Censure Resolution Moves Forward, Sen. Amanda Chase (R) Challenges “Germaneness,” Breaks Into Tears, Says Mother-In-Law Having Open-Heart Surgery; Video: VA Senators Respond to Sen. Amanda Chase (R), Who Faces Possible Censure For Her Actions on 1/6: etc.
Statement: Chase Censure Lawsuit Thrown Out
The Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus offers the following statement on the dismissal of Sen. Amanda Chase’s lawsuit regarding her censure by the Virginia Senate:
“We applaud the decision made by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in dismissing Sen. Amanda Chase’s lawsuit seeking to reverse the censure passed by the Senate with support from both Republicans and Democrats.
“Sen. Chase’s claims were outlandish and contradictory to her own words. For a Senator who said she would ‘wear the censure as a badge of honor’ to then claim mental anguish is a two-faced attempt to do what is politically expedient instead of what is morally right. Sen. Chase also sought to completely remove any record of the censure from Senate records which would constitute censorship, while she falsely claims she has been censored by her colleagues.
“As Senators, we hold ourselves to a high standard because we are leaders and role models in our community. Sen. Chase’s lawsuit was just another occurrence in her pattern of disrespectful and disorderly behavior, and we are glad to see her contrived complaints be thrown out of court.”
UPDATED 1:15 PM: See AG Mark Herring’s statement, below.
Attorney General Herring has defeated Senator Amanda Chase’s lawsuit this morning to overturn her censure in the Virginia Senate that happened on January 27, 2021, following Chase’s participation in events surrounding the insurrection at the United States Capitol. Attorney General Herring filed a motion to dismiss in February arguing that,“…the Senate acted entirely consistently with its own rules when considering and approving the resolution of censure.”
In his motion to dismiss, Attorney General Herring detailed the events that lead to Chase’s censure saying, “[o]n January 6, 2021, plaintiff participated in a rally that directly preceded an insurrection that ‘led to multiple deaths, including that of a United States Capitol Police officer; injured numerous others; desecrated the United States Capitol; resulted in property destruction; threatened the lives and safety of those who are entrusted with carrying out the will of the American people; and required an emergency response from 200 Virginia State Troopers and 1,300 members of the Virginia National Guard, who were put in harm’s way to quell the violence and restore order.’”
Attorney General Herring additionally explained that, following the events at the Capitol, Chase refused to condemn the actions that took place and actually praised those involved: “[i]n the aftermath of the insurrection, plaintiff repeatedly voiced her support for those who stormed the Capitol, calling them ‘[p]atriots who love their country’ and ‘propagating unfounded claims regarding the nature of the events, the identities of those who took part, and the validity of the presidential election.’” Adding that, “[p]laintiff also ‘declined’ an opportunity ‘to specifically denounce and repudiate those individuals at the January 6 riot who (i) were proponents of white supremacy; (ii) wore T-shirts and other attire emblazoned with anti-Semitic messaging; and (iii) breached the United States Capitol grounds barricades, broke into the Capitol when the United States Congress was in session, and disturbed and defaced the Capitol.’”
Attorney General Herring concluded his brief by saying, “[p]laintiff complains that, absent this litigation, she has ‘no remedy’ for her censure by the body of which she is a member…Because censure is fundamentally a political proceeding conducted by a legislative body, plaintiff’s remedy for any alleged wrongs must be a political one rather than ‘a public fight in a court of law.’ As the Supreme Court explained in a similar suit alleging legislative malfeasance, ‘[s]elf-discipline and the voters must be the ultimate reliance for discouraging or correcting [any] abuses.’”
Earlier this year, Attorney General Herring issued an advisory opinion confirming that “[e]ach body of the Virginia General Assembly possesses broad power to discipline and, where it judges appropriate, expel member legislators.” Attorney General Herring issued the opinion in response to a question about whether the General Assembly had the authority to discipline or expel legislators who may have contributed to the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol.
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