Two House Republicans are suing Nancy Pelosi over her security rules and unjust punishments via her metal detectors and security rules, arguing Democrats sometimes get special treatment that Republicans aren’t allowed to get:
FOX NEWS – Reps. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., are claiming that House security rules and punishments are being selectively enforced against Republicans, while Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been able to ignore protocols with impunity.
In a lawsuit filed Sunday, the congressmen claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put the new security measures in place – including metal detectors – specifically to target GOP lawmakers.
“Upon information and belief, Speaker Pelosi has instituted an unconstitutional policy of enforcing the Screening Rule against only members of the Republican minority in the House of Representatives, and exempting members of the Democratic majority from its enforcement, resulting in only Republican members being fined and having their congressional salaries reduced, all for the purpose of creating a false narrative for the political benefit of the House Democratic majority,” the complaint said.
Providing examples, the lawsuit claims that in February Clyde entered the House chamber without going through security screening, and was subsequently informed he was being fined $5,000 even though the following day Pelosi allegedly broke the rules by avoiding metal detectors without facing punishment.
The lawsuit also alleges that Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters, Jamie Raskin and Nydia Velazquez have all set off metal detectors and continued through without security stopping them for further screening.
Gohmert claims that he too was unfairly targeted as a result of inconsistent enforcement. According to the complaint, on Feb. 3 he had no problem reentering the House chamber after using the men’s room after he had previously gone through screening earlier in the day. The following day, Gohmert claims he was stopped for screening after using the men’s room, informed security that he had already gone through screening and continued on his way, and was then fined.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the screening process has delayed several Republicans including Clyde as they rushed to the House chamber, causing them to miss votes. Others, the complaint says, skipped screening to cast their votes and were then fined.
Pelosi’s office denies the allegation that she’s circumvented the security:
The lawsuit names House Sergeant at Arms William Walker and House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Catherine Szpindor as defendants for their roles in enforcing the rules. The CAO’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, while Walker’s office did not respond to Fox News’ requests.
Pelosi’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, but a spokesperson stated that the speaker had been screened with a metal detector wand on the date she allegedly avoided screening.
“The Sergeant at Arms has confirmed there was no violation reported as Republicans allege,” Pelosi’s spokesperson told Fox News.
The lawsuit isn’t just about the double standard, but about the punishments:
The security rules state that if House members do not pay their fines in a timely manner, they will have the penalties taken out of their salaries. Clyde and Gohmert claim that this violates the 27th Amendment’s limits on changing lawmakers’ compensation. The Republican representatives also claim that the rules go beyond the scope of the Constitution’s allowance for punishing House members for “disorderly behavior,” and that making members miss votes by detaining them for screening violates their constitutional protection against arrest while at, to, or from a House session absent treason, breach of the peace, or a felony.
There is absolutely no need for all of this beefed up security. The only reason Pelosi is doing all of this is to further her narrative of an ‘armed insurrection’ on January 6th and to keep Republicans who conceal carry off the floor. I hope Gohmert and Clyde win, but I suspect they have a huge uphill battle ahead of them.