Feb. 6 (UPI) — Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said in a news conference on Tuesday he has introduced a resolution stating that former President Donald Trump did not engage in insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
The nonbinding resolution could play a part in the legal push to knock Trump off the primary ballot in some states because of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which, in part, outlaws those participating in insurrection from holding public office.
Gaetz, an ardent supporter of Trump, said the ex-president was “thrilled” that 63 Republican lawmakers have signed on to the measure.
“President Trump was heartened by his many supporters for backing our legislative endeavor,” Gaetz said during a question-and-answer session at the U.S. Capitol. “I think the House of Representatives has a special and unique voice here.
“I don’t believe that the efforts of ‘law-fare’ by the left of some of these bureaucrats in some of these states have concluded. I think they will persist in making this a different form of fashion. I think the House saying that this was not an insurrection could have legal significance, as well as significance for the body.”
The announcement of the resolution comes on the same day that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s claim of broad presidential immunity, including in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Gaetz appeared with some of the resolution’s supporters at the press conference, which included Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.
Gaetz said the identities of the instigators of the riot at the Capitol that day still are in question, but he insisted Trump had nothing to do with it.
“There were people who were violent at that riot, and they should not have been,” Gaetz said. “That is a very different thing than declaring that President Trump engaged in insurrection. He wasn’t there. He said he wanted people to be peaceful.”
The former Republican president is facing four charges from the Capitol attack, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against the right to vote.
Gaetz said the term “insurrectionist” has been used in a “tortured and undemocratic way” to give legal power to what happened on Jan. 6, but nothing Trump did rises to that level.
“I think this would be incredibly helpful legally if we would adopt this provision,” Gaetz said. “I’ve been the victim of federal crimes. I know what it’s like, and prosecutors regularly consult the victim to understand what the victim’s expectations are. If we are the reported victim and we’re saying this was not an insurrection, I think that would hold a great deal of weight.”