Virginia’s Republican Members of Congress Are All Violating Their Oaths of Office

When members of the U.S. House of Representatives are sworn in, they take an oath of office which affirms that they “do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”  So right now, we’ve got a president who’s flagrantly violating the law and the constitution in numerous ways, and who is almost *exactly* what Alexander Hamilton had in mind when he pushed for impeachment powers (bolding added by me for emphasis):

From the outset, Hamilton feared an unholy trinity of traits in a future president — ambition, avarice and vanity. “When avarice takes the lead in a State, it is commonly the forerunner of its fall,” he wrote as early as the Revolutionary War. He dreaded most the advent of a populist demagogue who would profess friendship for the people and pander to their prejudices while secretly betraying them. Such a false prophet would foment political frenzy and try to feed off the confusion.

So haunted was Hamilton by this specter that he conjured it up in “The Federalist” No. 1, warning that “a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that . . . of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.”

Yep, that describes Trump to a capital “T” – just need to add in massive incompetence, outrageous collusion with foreign powers (particularly autocratic ones, like Putin’s Russia), plus rampant racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and disgusting behavior in general…and you’ve got Trump. So now, House Democrats are performing their constitutional duty in our system of government to hold this lawless, out-of-control president to account.

And Republicans? Mostly, they’re either completely AWOL or even worse, they are defending the indefensible and working overtime to obstruct justice. That, of course, completely violates their oaths of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” For instance, see below for the disgraceful behavior of Virginia’s U.S. House delegation Republicans – Rob Wittman (R-VA01), Denver Riggleman (R-VA05), Ben Cline (R-VA06) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA09), which is all about impugning the process (note: in fact, Democrats have bent over backwards to be transparent and to follow proper procedures, the law and the Constitution), casting aspersions on Adam Schiff and other Democrats who are doing their jobs as the law and the Constitution demand, falsely claiming that this is a partisan issue, and/or defending Trump’s indefensible behavior. Check it out, including Cline storming the “SCIF.” Disgusting.

P.S. I agree with Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08), who tweeted Wednesday afternoon:

“The day after shocking testimony from his own appointee exposed the President’s violations of his oath of office, he coordinated mob action with his closest partisan allies in the House to stop the next witness from testifying. This looks awfully like obstruction.”

Just tried to enter the room where the Intel Comm is interviewing witnesses for this partisan impeachment process. Both I and @RepWalberg were turned away. It is clear that House Ds do not want a clear or transparent process. #StopTheSchiffShow pic.twitter.com/Y9BlPlHsSE

— Rep. Rob Wittman (@RobWittman) October 23, 2019

It is absolutely necessary for the Speaker to hold a vote in the full House to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry. In wake of this partisan exercise, we have abandoned the work of the people. Watch my full remarks on the House floor here: pic.twitter.com/OjLwUqjViR

— Rep. Rob Wittman (@RobWittman) October 23, 2019

This morning I attended a press conference with members of the @HouseGOP to demand transparency during the impeachment inquiry. Watch the press conference below: https://t.co/hsHWbLtwrf

— Congressman Denver Riggleman (@RepRiggleman) October 23, 2019

The impeachment of a President is a serious matter and must not be abused as a tool for partisan gain or advantage in the next election. In the interest of fairness and due process, we must demand impeachment proceedings not occur behind closed doors and out of the public view. pic.twitter.com/eozud88JND

— Congressman Ben Cline (@RepBenCline) October 23, 2019

WATCH: here’s the video of when 2 dozen GOP members, led by @mattgaetz entered the secure hearing room (SCIF) to interrupt witness testimony in the #ImpeachmentInquiry as they demand access, despite not being committee members. They’re complaining it’s a “Soviet-style process”. pic.twitter.com/8KddYz3r9D

— Scott Thuman (@ScottThuman) October 23, 2019