A US congresswoman has denied calling for an “insurrection” in Washington as part of a trial challenging her right to stand for re-election. Marjorie Taylor Greene is being tried under a Civil War era law that bars officials from holding office if they violate their oath to protect the US.
The Georgia Republican, a close ally to Donald Trump, is one of the party’s most right-wing members in Congress. Democrats claim she played a key role in the 6 January US Capitol riot.
On Friday, Ms Greene, 47, became the first sitting lawmaker to testify under oath about her alleged role in the attack in 2021, as Congress was meeting to cement Joe Biden’s election victory over Mr Trump. She testified to the Georgia courtroom that she “had no knowledge of any attempt” to illegally interfere with vote counting in Congress that day.
She also repeated false claims that Mr Trump actually won the election.
The case centres around a provision of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution – the “Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause” – which prohibits elected representatives from seeking office again if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”.
Democrats may seek to use the same argument to bar Mr Trump from running if he attempts to throw his hat into the 2024 presidential election.
Credit: bbc.com
